Identity
by Marie the Hedgecat
Summary: Part three of Esplouge. The aftermath of Esplouge's insanity still haunts Sonic and co. Tails seems the most affected. Rated for violence and swearing.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is part three of my other fanfic titled "Esplouge." If you have not read "Esplouge" or "Return" (part two), you'll probably be confused if you jump straight into reading this. The other two aren't that hard to find - just typing the word "Esplouge" into the search engine on this site will yeild two, now three results. For newcomers, I welcome you, and for my older readers, welcome to part three.

Disclaimer: I own Esplouge and this plot. Sonic Team owns the rest.

--

_Tails was asleep somewhere and felt as though he were floating. Where he was he did not know, but he did not care. It was somewhere dark and he couldn't see, and all he cared about was looking for Esplouge. Something inside him knew that Esplouge was lost somewhere in the darkness and he had to help Esplouge, Tails had to help the person he had come to know as a friend. He reached out blindly, trying to feel his way through the darkness and eventually, he felt something. He couldn't see it, but something inside him knew that he had found Esplouge and he was holding onto Esplouge's hand..._

The light of the morning sun hit Tails' eyes in just the right way to startle him awake. Tails immediately went to shielding his face with his free hand, feeling something in the other. He looked to see what it was, expecting to see Esplouge, and was disappointed to see that it was a chaos emerald.

_But Esplouge is inside the emerald..._

Tails stared at the red gem a little longer before hugging it close to him, feeling the warmth inside as if feeling Esplouge's warmth. Esplouge was inside the emerald now, in a way. The emerald had taken Esplouge away from him, but it was also the only thing he had left of his fallen friend.

As far as he was concerned, it was the only thing he had left.

It had been two full months since Esplouge had gone, just past what would have been the darker fox's second birthday. Tails still hadn't fully recovered, and he had spent most of those two months alone in his house.

He no longer wanted company.

He no longer cared about being happy.

All he wanted was to get Esplouge back.

After a few minutes, Tails finally slung his legs over the side of his bed, stood up, and stretched. Today would be another awful, lonely day, just like all the rest. Although by now, the isolation was voluntary. Tails couldn't stand being around people anymore, as they all served as a reminder of how much he missed Esplouge.

Sonic had always hated Esplouge. So had Shadow, so had Knuckles. Cream and Amy were dead. With Eggman gone as well, there was no one threatening the well-being of the world, and thus, no reason to tag along on missions with Sonic. There was no reason to leave the house unless he needed food or other necessities.

Before Tails could get further into his thoughts, the phone rang for the first time in what felt like forever. For once, someone was actually willing to talk to him. Tails stared reluctantly at the phone for a moment before finally deciding to answer it.

"... Hello?" Tails asked flatly, no longer used to talking with people anymore.

"Tails?" Sonic's voice.

Tails was tempted to slam the phone down right then, as Sonic was one of the last people he wanted to be talking to, but he resisted the urge. After all, Sonic hadn't said anything to set him over the edge. Yet.

"Yeah?" Tails asked impatiently.

Sonic hesitated a moment.

"I was... Well, we haven't hung out in a while..."

"Get to the point."

"... Look, Tails, I didn't call you to start a fight, I just wanted to know if you wanted any company," Sonic said, starting to lose his patience. Dealing with Tails had become almost impossible since what had happened to Esplouge.

Tails didn't say anything, and after a moments pause, Sonic continued.

"I'm not asking you to leave your house, or even to talk to me, I just... I'm worried about you, Tails."

"I'm fine," Tails said flatly. "I don't need you to worry about me."

"Look, I can't help but worry," Sonic said, trying to keep his voice steady. "You're still my best friend. I still love you like a brother."

There was another pause.

"Fine," Tails said, defeated. "When will you be over?"


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm hungry._

_What do you want?_

_... I like candy. Mint candy. You like it, too, right?_

_... How did you know that?_

_I'm you, remember?_

_Oh yeah..._

The sound of the doorbell jarred Tails from his thoughts. For a second, he wondered who on earth would be visiting him before he remembered his conversation with Sonic earlier that morning. Tails set down the glass shard he had been holding before shuffling toward the door, reluctant to have company after being in isolation for so long.

_It's a nice change of pace, at least._

Tails opened the door slowly, finding that he wasn't used to natural light anymore. He winced as the sun hit his face, cursing under his breath.

"Hi, Sonic..." Tails greeted unenthusiastically.

"Hey, Tails," Sonic greeted awkwardly. "Uh... Are you gonna invite me in?"

"... Sure."

Tails stepped aside for Sonic to enter, quickly shutting the door afterwords.

"Jeez, this place is a mess," Sonic commented. "How long has it been since you've cleaned your house?"

_It's not like Tails to let his house get this messy..._

Tails stared at Sonic hollowly and shrugged.

"It's not that bad," Tails objected defensively. "Why did you want to come over here, anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Sonic said. "I haven't seen you in over a month. I've been worried about you."

"I'm fine," Tails said simply.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Sonic finally spoke up.

"It's Esplouge, isn't it?"

Sonic saw a flicker of emotion in Tails' eyes, although he couldn't identify what it was.

_... Hostility?_

"This last time was really hard on you, wasn't it?" Sonic continued carefully. "You know that me and Shadow and everyone else is here for you. We all care about you, Tails."

"Somehow, I doubt _Shadow_ would be worried about me," Tails replied harshly.

"Why would you say that?" Sonic asked. "Shadow cares about you..."

"I hate him."

Tails' words took a moment to register.

"What? Why?"

Tails shrugged.

"I just do," Tails answered simply. "When I think about him, I get really mad."

_That's because he tried to kill me._

Tails' mind drifted back to that night two months ago, the night Esplouge had died, the night Amy had died, the night where he had lost the two people he loved the most. He could still see Shadow's face...

_God, I want to kill him..._

"Tails?" Sonic's voice.

"Hunh?"

"You seemed lost for a minute there," Sonic explained. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tails appeared suspicious, as though suspecting that Sonic was interrogating him.

"Not particularly," the fox answered. "It's nothing concerning you."

"Tails, everything that happens to you concerns me," Sonic said. "You're still my little bro."

"No, I'm not," Tails replied coldly.

_I don't have a family, and I don't want one anymore._

_Everyone I love dies eventually._

_Like Esplouge..._

"Tails..."

"Leave me alone," Tails said. "You can stay here if you want to, but I don't feel like talking to you."

Tails took a moment to look at Sonic's hurt expression.

"I'll be in my room."

Tails climbed up the stairs, walking as though he were lifeless. All of the happiness seemed to have been drained from him since Esplouge had died. Sonic watched as Tails climbed the stairs and headed for his room, wondering if he would ever see his best friend happy again.

--

If Sonic had thought the rest of Tails' house was a mess, he would have been even more shocked by the shape Tails' room was in. The computer had been shoved off of the desk and a broken chair leg now rested in the monitor's screen. The rest of the remains of the chair were strewn about the room at random and never seemed to stay in one place for long; Tails often threw the splinters at the wall when he got frustrated, which was happening more and more frequently. The wall had numerous holes from random punching and object throwing. The bed had been slashed repeatedly, which Tails still couldn't remember doing. He had been doing things without realizing or remembering them a lot recently.

_Like that night..._

Tails could vaguely remember going to Amy's house after Esplouge had died, although everything that led up to his confrontation with Shadow remained a blur.

_Something about a dead child..._

_But I don't remember killing anyone other than Amy._

_Did I kill Amy?_

He remembered walking into her house, but he couldn't remember if she had already been dead or not.

_She was... She was dead, right? I didn't kill Amy. I didn't._

_I didn't want to kill her._

Tails could remember seeing the slashes covering the young hedgehog's body, but what had caused them?

_...Me? Esplouge?_

_Esplouge is me._

_I am Esplouge._

--

The next thing Tails knew, he was staring at himself in the mirror.

_I look like Esplouge..._

Golden fur versus Esplouge's brown.

Blue eyes versus Esplouge's red.

But all of that was disregarded.

_Esplouge's eyes were violet anyway, not red. The emerald made them red._

Tails could vaguely remember checking Esplouge's corpse after he had died... And sleeping next to it after he had returned home from his confrontation with Shadow. Somehow, sleeping near Esplouge's lifeless corpse was comforting. It was Esplouge, so it was comforting.

_He was still warm..._

_Why wouldn't he wake back up?_

_Why won't he wake back up?_

Tails' fist closed around the glass he had been messing with before Sonic had come over. His hand started to bleed, but that only made him feel better. Something about the sight of blood was just so...

_Intoxicating..._

Tails picked up the glass with the hand that wasn't bleeding, deciding to lick the blood off of his bleeding hand.

_God, it tastes so good..._

_Like candy. Like mint candy._

_Oh god..._

Feeling a surge of emotion, Tails cut deeply into his arm to keep himself calm. He couldn't be loud, not while Sonic was there. If Sonic heard him, he would interfere.

_Fuck..._

_I want more..._

Tails slashed his arm a few more times, going deeper and deeper until he could hardly stand it. He rubbed his arm over the mirror, smearing his blood over it, over his reflection.

_That's not me anyway, it's Tails...._

_Little Miles..._

Tails touched the bloodied reflection gently, staring at it hollowly.

_I love you, Miles... I loved Amy, too, but I love you best of all..._

_My dear, sweet little Miles..._

Tails began to lick the blood off of the mirror.

_You are my drug, Tails... You are my drug..._

_I am addicted to you._


	3. Chapter 3

_... I am addicted to you..._

Tails punched the mirror in front of himself suddenly, surprised that it hadn't cracked under the pressure of his fist.

_I remember the days I used to do that to you all the time..._

_Why have you stopped falling?_

In Tails' mind, the mirror shouldn't have cracked, it should have shown him his reflection falling to the ground in pain. In Tails' mind, he was no longer Tails.

_Why don't you cry anymore?! Goddamn it, why don't you fucking __**cry?!**_

Tails slammed his fist into the mirror again, still causing no damage, and he sunk to his knees, screaming incoherently.

--

Sonic had remained frozen to his spot after Tails had left. He couldn't believe how different Tails was now. It had been two months since Esplouge had died. If anything, Tails should have recovered a bit, but from the short interaction Sonic had just had with him, he seemed to be getting worse.

And where had this sudden hatred of Shadow come from, Sonic wondered. Tails had been on reasonably good terms with the dark hedgehog as far as Sonic knew. What had caused this sudden hatred?

_I don't remember Shadow mentioning anything about it..._

Then again, Sonic had barely talked to Shadow since Esplouge had died. Something must have happened between then and now to cause Tails' sudden hatred, but what could it have been?

Before Sonic could get any further in his thoughts, he heard Tails scream. As if by instinct, Sonic dashed up the staircase and into Tails' room, taking no notice of the shape it was in, his only interest being Tails' safety.

Tails was in the bathroom connected to his room, slumped on the floor, with blood covering his arms and smeared across his mouth. He was screaming and pounding the ground over and over with his fist. Sonic stood rooted to his spot for a moment, completely stunned by the sight before him, before noticing something even more concerning; there was shattered glass all over the floor. One of the shards of glass was large and had blood on it; blood that looked fresh.

Shaking off the stunned feeling, Sonic ran to Tails and tried to pick him up, to take him away from the blood and the glass and whatever was causing him to scream. To his surprise, Tails struggled against him.

"_No!_" Tails screamed, his voice so loud it cracked. "_Goddamn it, let me go!!_"

"Tails, what the hell...?" Sonic asked. "What the hell's going on?!"

"_Don't you fucking touch me!"_ Tails screamed, ignoring Sonic entirely. He tried to swipe at Sonic, but Sonic easily moved his head out of the way.

"Tails, what the hell are you saying?!" Sonic asked, forcing himself not to scream.

_He's still my best friend, he's still my little bro..._

Tails' struggling started to die down, allowing Sonic to drag him away from the bathroom and toward the bed which, Sonic just realized, looked as though it had been slashed repeatedly. The chair, which Sonic had been initially planning on dragging Tails to, was lying all over the floor, the wood completely splintered.

_I'm pretty sure his house wasn't in this state the last time I was here._

Sonic ignored the thought, focusing his attention to the matter at hand; getting Tails to calm down enough to tell him what had happened. He had succeeded on getting Tails to sit on the bed, and Tails had finally stopped screaming. Now the fox was staring at the ground, his expression completely hollow. Sonic decided to view this as a good sign, figuring that he and Tails could have an actual conversation this way.

"You took me away from him..." Tails muttered, his voice sounding torn. "Bastard."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sonic asked. "Tails, what on earth were you...?"

Tails looked at Sonic, seeming both malicious and confused.

"Did you just call me 'Tails'?" Tails asked.

"Uh... Yeah," Sonic answered, confused out of his mind. Why was Tails asking him this? He had been calling Tails by his nickname for as long as he could remember.

"Why?" Tails asked harshly.

"Because I've always called you that," Sonic answered, his confusion growing.

_What the hell are you saying, Tails? What on earth is going on?_

Tails laughed harshly.

"When was this?" Tails asked, faking humour. "I can remember you calling me 'bastard' and 'demon', but never 'Tails'..."

"What?" Sonic asked. "Tails, why would you...?"

"Again with calling me that," Tails said, losing his previous humour. "Stop it. I don't like this fucking game."

Sonic stared at Tails a moment, completely shocked. He couldn't remember Tails ever using such a strong curse word, no less could he imagine Tails cursing at him.

_He's starting to sound more like Esplouge did..._

That single thought left Sonic horrified. Tails really _was_sounding like Esplouge, and if that was the case...

Sonic tried to shake off what he had been thinking, figuring he was just being paranoid. There had to be some reasonable explanation why Tails was acting so strangely.

_Cool it, this isn't a movie. Tails isn't going insane..._

_He can't be going insane._

"Well..." Sonic said, trying to keep himself calm. "What would you prefer I call you?"

"The same thing I told you to call me when we first met," Tails said. "Esplouge."

Sonic stared at Tails as if he had grown a second head, sure that he had heard the young fox wrong. There was no way Tails could have said that he was Esplouge, there was just no way. Tails was a little distant now, maybe a little anti-social, but he wasn't insane. He was still the sweet little fox Sonic had met what seemed like a lifetime ago, he was still the sweet, innocent little boy Sonic had grown to love like a brother.

He just couldn't be crazy.

"You're joking. Right?" Sonic asked hopefully. "You... You don't really believe you're him. Right?"

Tails stared at Sonic blankly.

"Who else would I be, idiot?"

Sonic felt his heart sink, felt so utterly shattered. Why, why on earth was this happening? Why was it that even after death, Esplouge could still be darkening their lives?

_This isn't fair..._

"Esplouge _died_, remember?" Sonic asked, hoping he could talk some sense into Tails. "You were there. Don't you remember?"

"What the hell are you going on about?" Tails asked. "How many times have you guys seen me die? You should realize by now that I never stay dead."

Tails hopped off the bed, seeming about finished with the conversation.

"Listen," he said quietly, so that Sonic had to strain to hear. "Tails is mine. You have other friends who care about you, at least let me have _him_."

"Tails..."

"It's not fair for you to have everyone and for me to have no one!" Tails shouted suddenly. "You have Shadow and Knuckles and Amy and every other goddamn person you bump into on the street, at least let me have this one person!"

"You _are_ Tails!" Sonic shouted back. "You have _me_! And you have Shadow and Knuckles and _Esplouge killed Amy, remember? How could you be Esplouge if you can't remember doing that?!_"

Tails appeared shocked. For a moment, he almost seemed to be himself again, but that quickly contorted back into whatever he thought he was.

"But I didn't..." he said weakly. "I would never..."

Tails slammed his fist into the wall suddenly, cursing loudly with anger.

"_Fuck!_ Why does this shit keep _happening_ to me?! All these fucking lapses, as if I'm not even _me_ half the time, and _goddamn it, what the fuck's wrong with me?!_"

Sonic wasn't sure how to respond. He was too horrified, too confused to know what to do or say. This all had to be a nightmare or a joke, because there was absolutely no way Tails would ever act like this or talk like this. Esplouge probably would have, but he was dead.

And Sonic was determined to keep him that way.


	4. Denial

_Tails isn't going insane, there's just no way he's going insane..._

Sonic watched helplessly as Tails slammed his fist into the wall, frustrated that he could think of nothing to do to help his friend. He couldn't deal with having failed Tails yet again, especially if he was seriously losing Tails to a dead psychopath. It had been bad enough when Esplouge was still alive, but if Esplouge was able to continue his reign of terror even after death...

_How can I stop someone who's already dead?_

Of course, the mere thought was ridiculous. Esplouge was _dead_, there was no one to defeat, no one to stop. Tails was just... He was just having some trouble with coping, that was all.

He was just having some trouble coping.

Sonic tried to repeat this to himself in his mind over and over, but with each repetition, he felt his resolve grow weaker. He knew that this was more than just mourning. Tails needed help.

"T- Tails..."

Tails looked to Sonic, glaring. His eyes just seemed so utterly _empty_, as if someone had stolen the happiness and childlike innocence away from him.

"You're telling the truth, right?" the fox asked finally, his voice quiet. "I really killed Amy?"

"No, _Esplouge_ killed Amy," Sonic replied, hoping that if he refused to buy into Tails' weird little game, all of this nonsense would stop. "You're _Tails_. You're my little bro..."

"Shut up," Tails spat. "I have no idea what you're trying to pull, but I'm in no fucking mood for..."

Tails' hands went to his head suddenly, as if trying to hold it on. Sonic fought the urge to hold him, knowing that in his state, Tails was likely to just push him away.

_I can't stand seeing him like this..._

"Sh- shit..." Tails cursed under his breath. "Fucking headaches..."

Despite the oddness of their current situation, Sonic couldn't help but feel his protective instinct kick in. He knew he had to do _something_.

"Are you okay, Tails?" Sonic asked, making sure to say Tails' name. He refused to let Tails forget who he was.

Tails slumped over slightly and almost seemed to shrink away from Sonic. He appeared to be in so much pain, but he also seemed unwilling to let Sonic get anywhere near him.

_By this point, the only good thing that could happen would be if Tails just passed out..._

Sonic felt guilty for even having such a thought, but he knew it was true. If Tails were to pass out, Sonic could call a doctor, get him some help, do whatever it was he needed to do to end whatever nonsense was taking over Tails' actions and speech. He didn't want to lose his best friend to this madness.

"Tails, please let me help you," Sonic said, extending a hand out toward the fox.

Tails slapped Sonic's hand away. He looked back up the the hedgehog, glaring.

"For the last fucking time, _quit calling me that_."

"_No._"

Sonic and Tails glared at one another in silence, each willing the other to back down. Tails finally looked away from Sonic, although the glare did not leave his face.

"You always treat me like crap," Tails said. "Why do you act like you suddenly want to help me out?"

"I've _never_ treated you like crap, Tails," Sonic said, hoping that if he said Tails' name enough times, everything would just go back to normal. He couldn't stand seeing Tails like this, like that monster.

"I'm not Tails," the fox repeated quietly.

There had to be some way to prove to Tails who he was, Sonic thought, but how was he going to do that? Tails seemed so set on believing he was Esplouge, how could Sonic convince him that he wasn't?

_They didn't exactly look the same..._

"What colour are Esplouge's eyes?" Sonic asked suddenly, hoping that physical evidence would finally be able to prove his point. "His fur?"

"What are you...?"

"Look at yourself, Tails," Sonic interrupted. "You don't look like Esplouge, his fur was darker, remember?"

Tails looked at the golden fur on his arms, most of which was stained red from the bleeding. But the light golden colour was unmistakable, and Esplouge's fur had been much darker than that.

"Wh- what...?"

_What the fuck...? Why am I seeing _him_? I'm... I'm me, right? I'm still Esplouge..._

_N- no I'm not..._

_What...?_

A surge of senseless thought and emotion hit Tails all in one instant, bringing memories, tearing away other memories, replacing heated and angry emotions with softer and milder confused emotions, replacing who he believed he was with who he really was...

Without warning, Tails threw up.

--

_"I... I'm still me. Right?"_

_--_

_"Oh god, what the hell is going on?"_

_--_

_"Esplouge, I can't see you... Where'd you go?"_

_Tails felt something touch him from behind, holding him tightly. His blood ran cold._

_"I'm right here..."_

_Tails felt his panic rise._

_"Get away from me!!"_

--

_"What the fuck's going on?!"_

--

Tails' vomiting ceased, although Tails was still shaking. His expression was one of pure horror and his eyes seemed so distant, Sonic wasn't sure if Tails was mentally there anymore. Sonic felt sick, torn between helping Tails or getting to the bottom of whatever madness was taking him over. He couldn't stand seeing his best friend in so much pain, and it was made worse by the fact that there was nothing he could do about it.

_Why does this have to be happening to him?_ Sonic wondered sadly. _Why do things like this keep happening to him?_

Tails cringed suddenly, seeming afraid of something Sonic could only guess at. A little bit of awareness seemed to return to his eyes and Tails began to look around, stopping when he saw Sonic's concerned face.

"Ugh... S- Sonic...?" Tails' voice sounded frail and small, as it had when Esplouge had still been alive. It was a start, Sonic thought, although in a perfect world, Tails wouldn't be sounding so weak and helpless. If anything, it only made Sonic want to protect him more, although he was tentative to approach Tails just yet.

"Tails?" Sonic asked tentatively. "Are you okay?" Unable to restrain himself, sonic also asked; "You're _you_ again, right?"

"What...?"

Tails felt so utterly _weak_, as if he were about to vomit again. His mind was so unclear, he couldn't place what had happened before throwing up.

When had Sonic gotten there? Better yet, _why_was Sonic there? The two hadn't spoken much since Esplouge had died. Then again, nothing was making sense to the fox at all. He clung weakly to Sonic for support, and Sonic responded immediately by half dragging, half carrying Tails back toward his shredded bed, setting him down on the destroyed mattress. At the very least, he wanted to get Tails away from the vomit and onto a softer surface than the floor.

"Do you need anything?" Sonic asked, hoping that whatever had taken hold of Tails before was gone and never coming back. Tails wasn't crazy, he couldn't possibly be thinking he was Esplouge...

Tails suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

_He's still here... Esplouge is still here somewhere..._

Now that was a weird though. Tails had been there when Esplouge had died, when there was no longer any doubt as to whether or not Esplouge would wake up. He _knew_Esplouge was dead.

So why did it feel like Esplouge was somewhere nearby?

"Sonic... What's going on?" Tails asked weakly, although sounding a bit better than he had a moment ago. The nausea was finally starting to pass.

"I should be asking _you_ that," Sonic shot back, immediately regretting the sharpness of his words. "What the hell was going on with you?"

Tails stared blankly at Sonic for a moment.

"What are you talking about?" Tails finally asked, staring up at Sonic with the eyes of a confused child. His head was starting to hurt again. He had been getting frequent headaches lately.

Headaches that tended to go hand in hand with memory loss, although he wasn't about to tell Sonic that. The last thing he needed was for Sonic to think he was crazy.

"When I first got here, you were acting really weird," Sonic explained, hoping still that it was some sick game or better yet, a dream. "You were telling me to call you Esplouge. You seriously don't remember?"

_But I am Esplouge..._

Tails slowly shook his head in answer to Sonic's question as he blocked the random thought out. He was _Tails_, not Esplouge. Why would he even think such a silly thing, even if it was just a random, fleeting thought? The whole thing was silly.

_Maybe I need sleep, maybe I'm just hungry, maybe I'm just dehydrated..._

_"It's a river in Egypt..."_

Tails could remember someone saying that to him at a point, although by now, he couldn't remember who it was.

_I'm not in denial, I really haven't been sleeping much lately, and I can't even remember the last time I ate or drank anything..._

"I don't remember you getting here," Tails explained softly after a short pause. "But I've been forgetting a lot of things lately. I meant to set up an experiment to figure out why, but I kept forgetting to work on it. Isn't that funny?"

Tails gave one of the weakest smiles Sonic had ever seen, mostly trying to make himself feel better rather than the blue hedgehog.

"I'm not going crazy," Tails said, his tone as weak as his smile. By his voice, it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than Sonic. "I'm just... grieving. I just need some more time to cope, that's all."

"Tails, you've had two whole months," Sonic said. "Not to mention the times before when he died and came back later. You've had more than enough time to grieve for him, and considering the way he treated you..."

"Don't even pretend to know anything about it," Tails interrupted, angry emotion creeping into his otherwise weak voice. "He wasn't _all_ bad..."

Sonic grabbed Tails' arms gently so as to not irritate the wounds Tails had carved into himself. He turned Tails' arms so that Tails could see his bleeding wrists as well as the numerous scars from when Esplouge had tortured him.

"He _tortured_ you," Sonic said. "If you were in a room of mirrors, you'd be able to see the ones on your back, too."

"But he trusted me," Tails argued weakly, knowing there was no way he was going to make his point convincing enough. Esplouge had been completely insane, even when he had had amnesia. "He hated everyone else, but he _trusted me_..."

"He was _insane_, Tails," Sonic argued. "He hurt you. He killed two of your closest friends, as well as a lot of other innocent people. Why do you keep defending him?"

Tails was silent.

_I... don't know..._

Tails tried to rationalize things in his mind, tried to figure out just _why _he always felt the need to defend the person who had tortured him. There really was no reason to, he figured. After all, Esplouge had never treated Tails well unless he was taking advantage of him. And now Esplouge was gone, had killed himself despite Tails' desperate pleas that he stop, and yet, Tails still couldn't stop himself from defending the psychopath.

So why had he felt the need to defend Esplouge?

Sonic allowed the silence to drag on for a moment before speaking up again.

_What am I thinking? Tails is hardly in the state to be talking about this..._

"Come on," he said, gently tugging Tails to make him follow. "Let's at least fix up those scratches. We can talk more about this later."

Tails nodded and followed Sonic to the bathroom. It had been a long time since Sonic had taken care of him, since Sonic had taken an almost parental role to make up for what Tails no longer had. It was a nice feeling, Tails decided, to have someone who cared for him so much. It made him feel like a kid again, a feeling that had often been fleeting ever since he had met Esplouge.

So he told himself that the scratches were from falling down while playing.

If the scratches were from playing and falling, he could continue to be a kid. Yes, he had just fallen down, and big brother Sonic was helping him get cleaned up and bandaged.

Now all he had to do was think up an explanation as to why he didn't have parents. Maybe they were on vacation. A _really long_ vacation...

_Yes, of course. Everything is fine._

_Everything will be okay._


	5. Chapter 5

Sonic had decided to stay with Tails for a while to make sure the fox would be okay after his strange episode. Tails had agreed, happy to have the person he viewed as his big brother look after him.

Of course, he _needed_ someone to look after him. Something was wrong, and no amount of denial could block out that knowledge. Tails knew that there was something wrong, although he didn't understand what it was. Had he blocked it out, or had he simply not known what it was?

It didn't matter, as big brother Sonic was here now, and Sonic always made things better. Sonic would protect him from anything bad as long as they stuck close.

_Unlike when Esplouge kidnapped me..._

Tails mentally scolded himself for having such a thought. The first time, no one had known who Esplouge was, making it easy for him to grab Tails off the street as he was going about his day. The second time... Well, everyone had been pretty sure that Esplouge was dead. How was anyone supposed to know that Esplouge hadn't died? After all, a lack of a pulse generally indicated death.

But now Esplouge really _was_ dead, so Tails had nothing to worry about. However, he still felt troubled, perhaps that there was something wrong, although he couldn't quite place what it was.

So he put the thoughts behind himself. Sonic was here to take care of him, and that was all that really mattered. As long as Sonic was with him, he would be safe.

--

"... Tails?"

Tails startled slightly at the sound of Sonic's voice, having been lost in his own thoughts to the point of forgetting that the hedgehog was even there. Tails half smiled, feeling foolish for being startled so easily before speaking.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tails asked.

"It's kind of late, don't you think?" Sonic repeated.

Tails looked over to the clock, seeing that it was a little past ten at night. Had he been spacing out all this time?

"Oh... Yeah, it's getting pretty late," Tails said. "I should be going to bed soon."

Tails hopped off of the chair he had been sitting on and headed up the stairs to his room. He opened the door to his room and turned on the light, seeing the mess of splintered wood and shattered glass that now made up his room. He stared blankly at the mess for a moment, feeling his mind go completely numb before shutting off the light, closing the door, and heading back down the stairs.

_We're going to need to clean that up tomorrow..._

"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" Tails asked when he got back to the kitchen. "My room's too messy to sleep in."

"Of course you can sleep in my room," Sonic said, withholding a chuckle. "This is your house, you don't have to ask my permission to do anything. I can take the couch."

Tails stared at Sonic flatly for a moment, as if confused. He finally shrugged and walked toward the room that Sonic usually occupied when he was staying over.

"Thanks," Tails said, his voice so quiet it would have been a miracle if Sonic had heard him.

--

Sonic had stayed awake long after Tails had gone to sleep, still trying to wrap his mind around what exactly was going on with his best friend.

Something wasn't right, that much was obvious. Part of it had to do with Esplouge, that much had been obvious the moment Sonic saw Tails carving open his own arms, doing to himself just what Esplouge used to do to him.

But Sonic had the strongest feeling that there was more to it than just Esplouge's death. After all, Esplouge had "died" on two other occasions, and Tails hadn't taken it nearly this hard either of those times. And at the time, Tails had honestly thought that Esplouge was gone for good. Granted, this time he really _was_ gone for good, although Sonic couldn't understand quite why Tails was taking it as hard as he was. He certainly hadn't taken it this hard the previous two times.

It was normal for Tails to mourn. As long as Sonic had known him, Tails had had a big heart, had always thought more of others than he thought of himself. Tails was one of the kindest and most selfless people Sonic had ever known. Tails had always been very logical and composed.

But now, all of that seemed gone. Tails didn't seem to even be himself anymore, apparently going through intervals of emotional flatness to sudden blinding insanity. This was more than just having trouble coping with a loss, Sonic figured. There had to be more to it.

Sonic let his face hit the table, mentally exhausted. This had been one of the weirdest days he'd ever had to face, and he just _knew_that the more time he spent around Tails, the weirder his days would be. But even so, there was no way he could abandon his best friend, especially knowing that he was likely the only person who would actually be willing to help Tails. Amy was gone, and other than her, Tails really hadn't had many friends. There were people he knew and was friendly with, but after all of the chaos involving Esplouge, everyone seemed to be pretty distant toward Tails. Before, Sonic had assumed it was just the resemblance - the two had looked almost exactly alike - although by now, he was sure that there was something the others were picking up on that he was just missing.

_What am I gonna do, go around asking everyone about it? Play detective?_ Sonic wondered sarcastically. _Tails is the smart one, not me. I wouldn't even know what to ask._

Sonic lifted his head from the table, figuring he should at least fall asleep on the couch where it was comfortable, and he immediately froze at what he saw.

The lights were off.

The lights had been on before, and now they were off. However, that wasn't what made Sonic's blood run cold. In the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, Sonic could just make out a silhouette.

_Esplouge?!_

_No, no, there's no way Esplouge is standing there, my mind has to be playing tricks on me or something..._

And then Sonic thought about Tails. Was Tails still safe in his room, or had Esplouge...?

Sonic cut the thought off, knowing he was being rediculous. Esplouge was dead, there was no way he was standing mere feet away from him...

"Sonic?" came Tails' soft and gentle voice. A moment later, the lights were back on, and Sonic could clearly see Tails' face. "I'm scared. Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Brushing his earlier paranoia aside, Sonic felt a wave of nostalgia hit him. Tails hadn't asked Sonic to stay by his side like this for _years_. It confused him that Tails was suddenly acting this way again, although considering the oddness that had already occurred that day, Sonic didn't mind. At least this thing, strange as it was, was completely benign.

"Of course," Sonic agreed, giving the matter no second thought. He could always think about things in the morning, after a nice, long rest...

--

Tails had taken forever to fall asleep. Sonic, staying true to his word, had waited next to Tails, sitting in a chair next to him while he waited for the young fox to fall asleep. Tails hardly said a word to him and didn't even look at him. The only reason Sonic knew that Tails was asleep was because Tails had finally stopped responding to him altogether.

Sonic felt himself grow more frustrated as the night went on. Tails was going through something, possibly going completely _insane_, and he had no idea what to do about it. How on earth was he supposed to help Tails if neither of them could figure out what was wrong? All of it seemed like it would never end; Tails had begun to act strangely after he had first been kidnapped by Esplouge what seemed like a lifetime ago, although at first, Tails' behaviour seemed natural. Of course he had been jumpy and a bit paranoid; he had been grabbed off the street and physically tortured for _weeks_ before anyone so much as figured out where he was. That kind of thing would make _anyone_ a little jumpy afterwords. Heck, it was shocking Tails didn't get out of there in worse condition than he had.

But the way Tails was acting now just seemed so... off somehow. There was something seriously wrong, and Sonic couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. He tried to go through it in his mind; Tails had grown unusually distant, Tails had claimed to be Esplouge, then all of a sudden, Tails couldn't seem to remember claiming to be Esplouge. Now he seemed to go between phases of an almost regressive state and phases of not seeming to be all there. Not to mention what he had done to his arms, as well as what he had done to his own bedroom. At some point - likely numerous points - Tails had gone through fits of anger, and no one had been there to calm him down. Hell, no one even knew what was going on, save for Sonic. And he still didn't understand exactly what was happening to his friend.

Sonic fell onto the couch lazily, not caring that half of his body was still dangling over the ground. He was mentally and physically exhausted by now, and he already found himself dreading whatever was in store for him when he finally woke up.

--

Sonic woke up the next morning to the sun shining in his face. He groaned, willing anything to block out the sun to give him another five minutes of sleep. Knowing that wouldn't happen, however, he hopped off the couch, stretched, and immediately went to check on Tails. When he saw that Tails was still asleep, he closed the door to the bedroom quietly and began to work on cleaning the house, starting with Tails' bedroom.

--

_"There's something wrong."_

_Tails looked curiously to Esplouge, placing his finger on the sentence he was on in his book so he wouldn't lose his place._

_"What do you mean?" Tails asked, hoping it was nothing much so he could go straight back to reading._

_"I don't know," Esplouge said. "I just feel like there's something wrong."_

Other noises began to overlap with his and Esplouge's conversation. Tails couldn't quite tell what these extra noises were; they sounded far away and distant.

_"Esplouge, what's that noise...?"_

The sounds were growing louder, almost too loud. Esplouge hated loud noises, if the sound got any louder, it might make him angry. Tails didn't want to see Esplouge angry.

_"Hunh? I don't hear anything, Tails..."_

_"What? Are you sure?"_

Now it was Esplouge who sounded distant, and the noises continued to grow louder. What on earth was going on?

_"It's really loud..." Tails said. "I can hardly hear you..."_

Esplouge responded, although Tails couldn't quite make out whatever it was he said.

And then Tails realized that he hadn't been talking to Esplouge at all. He had been asleep in his bed, the sounds from the real world mixing in with the dream he was having. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before cursing under his breath and forcing himself to get out of bed to face another day.

_What the hell is making that noise?_ Tails wondered irritably. He walked down the hall for a moment before he ran into Sonic, who seemed unsure of how to greet him.

"Um... Good morning?" Sonic greeted, almost asking it. "I guess I should be saying 'good afternoon' seeing as it's well past morning by now..."

"What were those noises?" Tails asked flatly.

"Hunh? Oh, I was just cleaning up a littl..."

Sonic cut himself off when he received a dark glare from Tails.

"I'm not a baby," Tails spat angrily. "I can clean up my own house without your help."

_What the hell has gotten into you, Tails?_

_Okay, maybe he's just a little groggy, after all, he just woke up. That has to be it._

"Um... I was just trying to be helpful," Sonic defended, not in the mood to get into a fight with his best friend. "I wanted to let you sleep in, and I figured that after what happened yesterday..." Sonic trailed off, wondering if Tails would even remember what he was talking about. Tails' angrily confused expression told him that Tails did not remember. "Um, nevermind."

"Can you just stop treating me like a little kid?" Tails asked, annoyed. "Seriously, I can take care of..."

Tails cut himself off, seeming to just notice the bandages on his arms that Sonic had applied just the night before. He stared at the bandages for a moment as if confused before turning his attention back to Sonic.

"What the heck happened?" Tails asked, his tone milder than it had been before. "Why...?"

_I fell down and hurt myself._

_They're just scratches. That's all._

_I fell down and scratched up my arms and big brother Sonic came and fixed them up._

"Tails?" Sonic asked. Tails looked from the bandages to his friend curiously, the former contempt completely absent from his eyes. "You seemed... out of it for a minute there. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tails answered, trying in vain to make his voice sound cheerful. "I'm fine. Um... I'm kind of hungry, though. Can you make breakfast?"

Under normal circumstances, Sonic would have chuckled and pointed out that it was a little late for breakfast. However, the last thing he wanted was to find himself in a fight with his friend, so he figured he'd just play it safe for now. At least until he understood whatever it was that was going on with Tails better.

"Sure," Sonic agreed. "Um... What do you want?"

Tails shrugged.

"I dunno. What do we have?"

_How does he not know what foods there are in his own house?_ Sonic wondered. He actually knew the answer himself; he had gotten through cleaning Tails' kitchen not too long ago and knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was virtually nothing to eat not only in the kitchen, but in the entire house as well.

"... We should probably go grocery shopping first," Sonic said. "There isn't really anything to eat here."

Tails appeared confused by this, but merely nodded as a response.

"Can we go now?" Tails asked. "'Cause I'm really hungry."

Sonic agreed without a second thought, just happy to get both himself and Tails out of the house. After hours of cleaning, Sonic was beginning to get sick of the place, and he was sure that Tails hadn't left in weeks if not months.

So they could leave for a little while, get some fresh air, and deal with things later. Time out of the house would make them both feel better and more at ease, which would make it easier for Sonic to try to figure things out later.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: This chapter turned out a lot shorter than I was expecting, and it also took a bit longer to complete than I was expecting. I'm having a bit of writer's block right now, but the next chapter is most of the way done, so it should be up soon.

Also, I want to say thank you to all of my readers. You guys are awesome!

--

_"Esplouge, where are you taking me?" Tails asked for what felt like the millionth time. Esplouge had been dragging him around for what felt like hours, although it had probably only been a few minutes. Still, Tails had no idea where they were headed, and knowing Esplouge's violent mood swings, that was never a good sign. The fact that Esplouge hadn't even looked at him in well over a few minutes was another bad sign; Esplouge rarely looked at him immediately before he did something terrible._

_At least not anymore. A lot of things about Esplouge had seemed to be changing recently, although why Tails could only guess._

_"You'll see when we get there," Esplouge answered flatly, the lack of emotion in his voice somehow more threatening in Tails' mind than screaming would have been. Esplouge's voice had that eerie kind of calm about it; the kind of calm that usually happened in the moments before a terrible storm._

_Yet another bad sign._

_"Did I do something bad?" Tails asked softly, for a minute not even sure if Esplouge had heard him. He opened his mouth to repeat the question, hesitated, and then Esplouge finally spoke up again._

_"No. You didn't do anything wrong. Why would you think that?"_

_The hand around Tails' wrist loosened slightly, which was probably the first good sign Tails had seen since they had started their walk. _

_When he thought about it harder, Tails realized he couldn't even remember starting the walk; they had just been walking for a long time. There was no beginning, and right now, it felt as though there would be no ending, either._

_What kind of sign was that though? It wasn't necessarily malicious, but it wasn't exactly calming._

_"Y- You just seem a bit angry," Tails finally answered. "I- Is there anything you want to talk about?"_

_"Nah... I'm fine," Esplouge said, although his tone wasn't convincing. However, Tails knew better than to press on, so he kept himself quiet._

_When had they started their walk? Tails couldn't help but wonder about that the moment the thought came into his head. Had Esplouge even told him where they were headed before they set off?_

"...Tails...?"

_Tails flinched at the voice. It had come so suddenly and sounded as though it came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Esplouge finally stopped walking and turned back to him, his confused eyes almost lifelessly dull. Tails had to force himself not to cringe, to convince himself that the light was just playing tricks on him and that Esplouge was obviously still alive seeing as they were walking together and all._

_"Tails?" Esplouge asked, his voice almost hollow, much as Tails expected the voice of a person who has accepted death to sound right before they died. "Is something wrong?"_

_"I... uh... I thought I heard something..." Tails answered, unable to tear his eyes away from Esplouge's. They were so horrifying, so utterly dull and lifeless, and that somehow made it impossible for the smaller fox to look away._

_Tails briefly wondered why people tended to be like that, to continue to stare at something even if it horrified them instead of simply looking away and forgetting it._

Tails felt something touch his shoulder, nudging him slightly, although he gave no response to the touch.

_"Oh, really?" Esplouge asked, his voice eerily calm. "I didn't hear anything. What do you think you heard?"_

"Tails!"

_"I... I don't know," Tails said, trying to ignore this extra voice, this oddly familiar voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "It sounded kind of like someone was talking to me... But from inside my head."_

_Esplouge's dead eyes seemed to widen slightly, somehow acquiring a look of horror, although before Tails could inquire as to why Esplouge appeared so suddenly freaked out, he felt himself being ripped away, this reality falling apart to be replaced by an entirely different one._

Now he was standing in the middle of the sidewalk on a bright sunny afternoon, and Sonic was there with him, looking more than a little concerned. Tails stared at him for a moment, wondering just how on earth he had gotten from walking with Esplouge in what he now realized had been a vast space of... _nothing_... to being with Sonic in the middle of the day.

"Hunh?" was all Tails managed to get out.

"Tails, what the hell just happened?" Sonic asked, his voice carrying the same concern as his expression.

"... W- What do you mean?" Tails asked, finding himself wondering if Sonic had seen him walking with Esplouge and was angry about it.

"You just kinda... Zoned out there for a minute," Sonic said, not really sure what had happened to Tails. "Is something wrong?"

_Why does everyone keep asking me that?_ Tails wondered.

"No," Tails answered a little sharper than he had intended. "I'm fine."

"We can go back home if you want to," Sonic offered, probably trying to be friendly, although Tails took it as condescending. "I can always come back later to get whatever groceries you need."

_Oh, so we're going out to get groceries..._

_I haven't been grocery shopping in a while,_ Tails realized. _So this is probably a good thing._

"No, really, I'm fine," Tails said, his voice hurried and distracted. "Can we just keep going now?"

Sonic stared at Tails for another moment, clearly concerned, before finally giving up and continuing their walk as if nothing had happened.

_Maybe if I act like everything's normal,_ Sonic thought hopefully, _then it'll be that way._

_Or, at the very least, maybe it'll make Tails easier to deal with._

--

Sonic and Tails had gone to the grocery store and back without incident. Sonic found himself grateful for this; figuring that this was a good sign, as for the most part, Tails was acting pretty normal. Tails had even gone to work on an experiment for a while, although he was being pretty secretive about what it was.

_He's always been like that, though..._ Sonic figured. _So maybe he's actually returning to normal._

Sonic was tempted to go out on a joy run for a bit, sure that Tails would be fine alone for a few minutes, but talked himself out of it. After all, Tails had seemed okay up until he claimed to be Esplouge, and Sonic wasn't willing to have Tails freak out like that all by himself. Tails might still need someone to be there with him. So instead of going out to run around, Sonic contented himself with the TV, even though there was really nothing on. After about a half hour of flipping the channels, Sonic finally gave up and went to check on Tails, more out of boredom than out of curiosity as to what the fox was doing.

"Yo, Tails," Sonic greeted. "What've you been up to?"

Tails whirled around from whatever he had been doing, seeming surprised that Sonic was there at all.

"Nothing," Tails said a little too quickly. "I'm not doing anything."

"You're telling me you've been just sitting down here in the dark for over an hour?" Sonic asked. "Somehow, I find that a little hard to believe."

"Don't come down here!" Tails snapped.

"I... wasn't planning to," Sonic said, slightly confused. "You're acting a little... edgy. Do you think you need to take a break for a bit?"

"I'm fine, Sonic," Tails snapped. "I'm just trying to work on an experiment..."

"I thought you said you weren't doing anything," Sonic countered. "Seriously, if you really aren't doing anything, I don't see why you can't take a break. Or why I can't come in."

"Sh- shut up," Tails said. "You're starting to talk like him."

"Like who?" Sonic asked.

Tails glared and his fists visibly clenched.

"Like Shadow," Tails said darkly.

_There he goes mentioning Shadow again,_ Sonic thought. _I wonder what's up with them?_

"Why's it so bad if I sound like Shadow?" Sonic asked, hoping for an answer that didn't end in another episode. "I thought you and Shadow were getting along okay."

"Fuck him," Tails said angrily. "If I ever see his face again, I'm going to kill him."

Sonic didn't even know how to respond to the statement. Had he heard Tails wrong? This kind of thing seemed so unlike him...

And so like Esplouge.

_No,_ Sonic said to himself, _I'm just being paranoid._

"Tails...?"

"What?" Tails asked, his tone implying that just by talking, he was being horribly inconvenienced.

_Okay, he's responding to his name at least. Maybe he's just been working hard on... whatever he's working on... for a long time, and he's just getting edgy. He's done that before._

_That's gotta be what's going on._

"... Nevermind," Sonic said finally. "Don't stay up all night, okay?"

With that, Sonic went back into the house and back to the boring TV shows.

--

Tails didn't come back into the house until nearly midnight. Before Sonic could ask him how he was or why he seemed so angry at Shadow, Tails stated that he was going to bed and didn't want to be bothered, not even giving Sonic a chance to speak.

Sonic waited silently for a while after Tails went to bed.

_Tails is still acting a little off..._ Sonic thought as he waited. _And he's mentioned Shadow a few times now..._

_I wonder if Shadow knows anything about this?_

With a quick glance toward the stairs, Sonic reached for the phone and dialed Shadow's cell phone. He didn't exactly want Tails knowing about this call, but if Shadow had any answers, Sonic wanted to know them.


	7. Sparks of Insanity

Author's note: There's enough swearing in this chapter that I almost feel like I should warn you all ahead of time.

* * *

Sonic waited until he was sure Tails was asleep before finally calling Shadow. As the phone rang, Sonic found himself wondering why on earth Shadow had given _him_ of all people his cell phone number before finally remembering that the first time Esplouge had darkened their lives, Shadow had been unwilling to keep in contact with anyone else. When the seriousness of the situation finally hit him, Shadow had given Sonic his cell number with very strict instructions not to prank call him after everything was said and done. Sonic had agreed, at the time only caring for Tails' safety, and this situation felt serious enough that it deserved some of the darker hedgehog's attention.

How Shadow would feel about the matter, however, remained to be seen.

Shadow picked up after what felt like an eternity, and by the sound of his voice, Sonic could tell he wasn't in the best of moods.

"Sonic, what the _hell_ do you want at this time of night?" Shadow asked angrily.

"Oh, like you were even asleep," Sonic jeered, trying to lighten up his own mood at Shadow's expense. "Anyway, ... um... I need your help with something."

Shadow paused for a moment, seemingly shocked and trying to think of a response.

"You're asking for my help?" Shadow asked, sounding a little skeptical. "With what, may I ask?"

It was Sonic's turn to pause, his eyes darting restlessly toward the stairs to Tails' room, as if afraid the fox would come down them at any minute. He wasn't exactly comfortable with Tails knowing about this conversation until he was sure of what was going on with the fox.

"It's Tails," Sonic began unsurely. "He's been acting... a little weird. Oh, who am I kidding, there's something really weird going on with him, and... I just wanted to know if you knew anything about it."

There, now his question was out in the open and Shadow had to pause in thought, trying to figure out the best way to respond, unable to come up with much more than an almost suspicious;

"What makes you think I would know what's going on with him?"

Sonic's eyes darted toward the stairs again.

"He... He's mentioned you," Sonic explained, self-consciously lowering his voice. "Hating you, wanting to kill you... Seriously, if you know _anything_..."

"Maybe I do," Shadow cut in, his voice cool and flat. "And maybe I don't. Tails and I haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye as of late, he's mentioned that, I assume?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, feeling himself growing frustrated. Why was Shadow playing games with him?

"What did he say specifically?" Shadow asked.

"Just that he hates you," Sonic said. "He never told me why. Seriously dude, if you know _anything_ about this, you'd better tell me. _Now._"

Shadow paused again.

"You're not going to like what you hear," Shadow said finally. "You're _really_ not going to like it."

"I. Don't. Care," Sonic said, emphasizing every word as he spoke. "I just want to know what's wrong with my friend. I don't care how painful it might be to hear, I need to know what's wrong with him."

Shadow paused, seeming to size up the situation.

"Where should we meet, then?" Shadow asked finally, confusing the blue hedgehog.

"What are you talking about?"

"... I'm not comfortable saying anything over the phone," Shadow said. "He could be listening in."

"Who, Tails?" sonic asked. "No he's not, he just went to sleep a little while ago."

"How can you be sure of that?" Shadow asked. "Are you in the room with him? Can you actually see him sleeping right now?"

"... Well, no, but..."

"Look, this really isn't the kind of thing he needs to hear," Shadow continued. "Wasn't that your mindset when you called me? Otherwise I can't imagine why you would leave him for even a second if you're as worried about him as you sound..."

Sonic paused for a moment. He looked to the stairs again, now wondering if Tails really _was_ listening in silently on one of the other phones. After all, he had at least three or four in his house, and one of those phones was in his room...

"Okay, fine," Sonic said finally. "We'll meet up tomorrow."

"Where?" Shadow asked. "And what time?"

"... I really don't want to leave Tails alone," Sonic said. "Can't you just come over here? He likes to experiment, we could always distract him with one of those..."

"I'm not comfortable with that," Shadow said. "He could still walk in and hear us talking, and he _really_ doesn't need to hear any of it."

"Why does it matter if he hears it or not?" Sonic asked. "It's _about_ him, isn't it? Besides, how long are you planning to take on explaining what's going on?"

"... Look, I'll just look for you tomorrow," Shadow said. "Just tell him you're going out for a run or something."

"But..."

Sonic heard a 'click', signaling that Shadow had hung up. Sonic stared at the phone, feeling more than a little annoyed before setting it back down, not even bothering to hang it up.

_The stupid thing will run out of batteries and turn itself off,_ Sonic figured bitterly. _That, or it has a timer of some sort or something like that. Tails probably tripped it out at some point, anyway..._

"Jesus, you're no help at all," Sonic muttered under his breath, heading for the guest room he usually occupied when he stayed at Tails' house.

He stopped the moment he turned around. Sonic was now face to face with Tails, and something about the fox seemed...

Wrong.

That was the only word Sonic could think of to describe the expression on Tails' face. It was just wrong. Sonic had seen this exact expression before, although the only time he had seen it, it had been on Esplouge's face. It was an expression that seemed so forced, so utterly fake, as if Tails were trying to appear happy even though he was absolutely furious on the inside. And despite his own ego and bravery, Sonic found that seeing this expression on his friend was absolutely terrifying.

It terrified him when he thought of what could be going on in Tails' head. Sonic wasn't necessarily concerned for his own safety, rather, he was concerned for Tails'.

"Hello, Sonic," Tails greeted, his voice falsely sweet. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," Sonic answered defensively. "Um, I thought you said you were tired. Weren't you asleep?"

Sonic noticed that Tails was holding something, although he couldn't quite tell what it was. Tails grinned at him, although everything about that grin just felt wrong.

"And miss all the fun?" Tails asked, his voice full of false cheer. "I don't think so~!"

"Really, Tails, I think you should go back to sleep," Sonic said, trying to fight back the feeling of terror that was growing inside of him. "Early to bed, early to rise, right?"

Tails continued to smile at Sonic hollowly, playing unconsciously with the object in his hand.

"So what happens if I never go to sleep?" Tails asked. "People who go to sleep early wake up early. People who go to sleep late wake up late. So what the _fuck_ happens if someone _doesn't fucking __**sleep?**_"

Despite Tails' outburst, Sonic was sure he heard Shadow's voice come from the phone. But that didn't make any sense; even if Sonic hadn't hung up, Shadow still had.

Right?

"_**What the fuck happens, Sonic?**_"

Sonic reached for the phone, not caring whether or not he was holding it right side up.

_Oh my god, Tails really was listening in, he knows what Shadow and me were just talking about, and what the hell's going on?_

"_Shadow, get the fuck over here now!"_ Sonic screamed, sure that even if he was holding the phone wrong, Shadow would hear him.

Sonic saw blood dripping from Tails' hand and put together what he must have been holding.

Glass.

Just like Esplouge would have done.

"Oh my god..." Sonic muttered, terrified.

"Sonic, what the hell is going on?" Shadow's confused voice asked from over the phone. "Is he in there with you?"

"I've only slept once since he died," Tails continued, his voice significantly quieter than it had been mere moments ago. "Did you know that? It was that same night, and I slept next to him. He was still warm. Ha ha... But then he got all cold, and even getting the chaos emerald near him didn't warm him up. He's so fucking _cold_, Sonic! Even now, he's probably freezing his ass off in that closet I stuck him in!"

In the confusion of the situation, Sonic couldn't make heads or tails of the fox's words. All that would register in his mind was that Tails was going insane, and no amount of carefully cultivated denial could block that out anymore.

His best friend was going insane, and Sonic could slowly feel his world turning upside-down.

"Wh- wha...?"

"And _you_..." Tails said seeming to address the phone. "_It's your fucking fault he's not here anymore, __**Project fucking Shadow! **__Yours and Sonic's both!__You fucking bastards couldn't bear the fact that I had someone else who cared about me! __**Esplouge was my friend, and you both drove him to death! You fucks!**_"

"_What the hell are you saying?_" Sonic cried, confusion and fear seeming to take over his every thought and action. "He _tortured_ you, or have you forgotten about that?"

"It's _your_ fault!" Tails shouted, seeming to run out of energy. "Everything is your fucking fault! Now I have to live for both myself _and_ him! Do you have any idea how _hard_ that is?"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Tails?" Sonic shouted.

Sonic dropped the phone in favour of avoiding the glass Tails had nearly cut him with. Tails slashed at him repeatedly in the same blind fury Sonic had seen Esplouge adapt, and Sonic found that he didn't want to run away. Even now, his primary concern was Tails' safety over his own. All he could do was dodge Tails' attack and hope the fox got tired out before too long.

And then a stupid chair had to get in his way and trip him up.

In moments, Sonic found himself on the ground, staring up at Tails who was now sitting on top of him, his usually soft blue eyes now filled with a terrifyingly uncharacteristic fury.

"Should I just slit your filthy throat and be done with it?" Tails asked teasingly. "Or should I fucking _torture_ you first for what you did to Esplouge?"

Before Tails could respond, Sonic shoved Tails off and was now pinning him to the ground, the shard of glass Tails had been using now a safe distance away.

_He feels so much lighter now..._ Sonic realized with horror. _How long has it been since he's eaten anything substantial?_

"He. Tortured. You," Sonic said angrily, his eyes welling up with frustrated tears. "He didn't care about you at all. He was screwed up. You _know_ that. Why are you still trying to defend him?"

"I'm the only one who will," Tails said, his struggles finally starting to die down. "I'm the only one who's ever cared about him and my head really fucking hurts right now, can you shut up for three minutes?"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you fucking attacked me!" Sonic shouted angrily. "Seriously, why? Why do you care about him more than you care about me? After all I've done for you and all he's done _to_ you... _Why_?"

Tails appeared shocked by this statement.

"What would ever make you think I cared more about him than you?" Tails asked flatly. "I care about you both equally. You should know that."

"You just tried to _kill_ me!" Sonic shouted, barely noticing as Tails flinched. "Did you ever try to kill _him?_"

"_As a matter of fact, I did!_" Tails shouted back, trying and succeeding to match Sonic's volume. "_And it ended up pretty much like this!_"

Tails' voice dropped significantly before he continued.

"All you have to do now is cut me. Esplouge practically cut my spine open when I tried to... to..."

Tails let out a frustrated scream.

"I'm so fucking _tired_, why can't I fucking sleep?"

"You slept last night," Sonic countered. "And this morning. You slept in a long time, remember?"

"Oh, I was faking it, you idiot!" Tails yelled. "You wanna know what I was _really_ doing? I was spending all of my time trying to figure out how to wake him up!"

"Wha...?"

"Esplouge is just sleeping," Tails said, his voice dangerously quiet. "He always wakes up after a while. He's just sleeping and he's really, really tired. He doesn't get enough sleep, so he just gets a lot all at once to make up for it. _I'm going to fucking wake him up!_"

"Tails, what the hell are you saying?" Sonic asked. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"_I just want to go to sleep!_" Tails screamed. "_I'm so fucking tired!_"

"Why didn't you tell me you were having sleeping problems?" Sonic asked angrily. "Did you even try to get help for it? What have you been doing recently, anyway? _What the hell's going on with you?_"

Tails smiled, although it was clear that it was forced.

"I already told you," Tails said quietly. "I've been trying to wake him up."

"He's _dead_ Tails!" Sonic nearly shouted. "You _know_ that!"

Tails continued to smile at him.

"He's just sleeping," Tails insisted. "He has sleeping problems, and I'm just taking on the burden for him for a little while. He'll wake up someday, and then I'll be able to fall asleep again. I just have to wait for a little while."

"Tails... What are you saying?" Sonic asked. "What's happened to you?"

"If anything he's said can be taken seriously, he may have just gone insane from a lack of sleep," Shadow's voice said from behind Sonic. Sonic turned his head to see and sure enough, Shadow was standing there behind him, his red eyes fixed on Tails cautiously.

"But I'm sure that's not all of it," Shadow finished. "After all, he _did_ have a little killing spree the night Esplouge died, and I'm pretty sure he had been sleeping okay up until then."

"_What?_" Sonic asked, looking from Shadow to Tails. He had skipped questioning when Shadow had even gotten there and was immfediately wondering what on earth the dark hedgehog was talking about.

"Tails, is that true?" Sonic asked.

Sonic found that Tails' eyes were fixed on Shadow. The fox looked absolutely furious.

"I thought their blood would wake him up faster," Tails said. "He likes blood..."

"Really?" Shadow asked mockingly. "Because I remember it a little differently..."

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Sonic shouted, looking from Tails to Shadow and back, hoping that one of them would answer him. He couldn't stand not knowing what was going on, especially when his best friend was involved.

"Has Tails ever claimed to actually _be_ Esplouge?" Shadow asked, looking to Sonic.

Sonic stared back at Shadow, his expression hard.

"Yes. What's going on, Shadow?"

"I don't know exactly what's going on with him," Shadow explained. "But he's not himself anymore, so to speak."

"I'm still me!" Tails shouted, struggling against Sonic again. "I'm not going crazy!"

"Yeah, and that time I tried to blow up the earth was just a bad mood," Shadow countered. "I was going insane back then, but I got past it. But the thing is, I had to be _willing_ to fix things and to admit that there was something wrong with me. No amount of therapy can help if you're not willing to make yourself better."

"_I'm not crazy!_" Tails shouted again. "_I don't need fucking therapy!_"

"I'm not saying you do," Shadow continued. "I'm just saying that you need to realize what you're doing. You _murdered_ people, Tails. You've been claiming on and off to be a dead person, and right now you're claiming that that same dead person is still alive. Doesn't something seem a little off with that?"

"He's just sleeping," Tails said, his struggles dying down again. "He's just... He's just asleep..."

Without warning, tears began to slide down Tails' face. Sonic felt his heart tear itself in two, wanting nothing more than to comfort his friend. But how could he comfort Tails if the fox was likely to try to kill him again at any given moment? How could he tell Tails that "Hey, this guy you cared about is dead, but other than that, everything's fine"? How could Sonic break apart this horrible illusion Tails had been living in for months without expecting Tails to do something absolutely insane in response?

What the hell was he supposed to do?

"Tails..." Sonic said helplessly. "We just want to help you. Shadow and I just want to help you. Can't you see that?"

"Why did Esplouge leave me, Sonic?" Tails asked. "I thought he was my friend, I thought I could help him... Why did he leave me?"

Sonic finally felt it was safe to let Tails up, so he slowly helped the fox up. Tails clung to Sonic and cried on his shoulder. Sonic looked to Shadow for further instruction, but the dark hedgehog merely stared back seeming unsure of what to do next.

"Tails..." Sonic said softly.

"I'm... I'm so tired, Sonic..." Tails sobbed.

"Then don't you think you should go to sleep?" Sonic asked gently, sure the danger had passed.

"I... I can't," Tails objected. "I have to know why he left me..."

"It'll be easier for you to focus if you're rested," Shadow offered a little bluntly, trying and failing to sound friendly.

Tails looked toward Shadow, seeming surprised the dark hedgehog was even there. He clung tighter to Sonic, as if he were a child clinging to his parent for protection from a particularly scary stranger.

"Shadow's right, Tails," Sonic said. "You need to get some rest."

"Okay," Tails agreed finally, sounding defeated. "You're probably right. I probably just need some sleep."

Sonic began to lead Tails away toward his bedroom, grateful Tails had finally given in and had agreed to get some sleep.

Now he just had to hope that Tails actually went to sleep.

"Hey, Sonic," Shadow called after them.

Sonic looked toward Shadow.

"We're not done talking yet," Shadow finished. "Finish putting him to bed, then we'll talk."

Sonic nodded in agreement before leading Tails up the stairs and to his bedroom. He tucked Tails in, feeling much like a parent as he did so. He waited a few minutes, making sure that Tails really was asleep this time before going back down the stairs to join Shadow.

This was going to be a long night, Sonic thought bitterly. A long, hellish night...


	8. Small Talk

Sonic finished putting Tails to bed, promising himself he'd stay with Tails the rest of the night after Shadow left just to make sure the fox actually slept. The last thing he wanted was for Tails to freak out again.

Or to attack him again.

_If Tails really hasn't been sleeping since Esplouge died,_ Sonic thought as he headed down the stairs, _then he's going on a few solid months of sleep deprivation. That would drive anyone insane._

_.. Then again, how much of what he says can I really trust anymore?_

Sonic felt guilty for leaving Tails alone after Esplouge had died, for assuming that Tails had just needed some space. He should have known that something was wrong. There had been signs that he could no longer deny, signs that things weren't quite right with the fox, but Sonic had overwritten all of those signs as Tails going through a sort of mourning period.

And now, Sonic realized, he was completely disgusted with himself for it. He was disgusted with himself for letting his friend go through this hell all by himself. He _knew_ there was something more he could have done, some magical thing that he could have done to prevent all of this insanity, and what had he done? He had left Tails all alone, forced him to suffer alone, to go completely insane and feel that no one was there to help him.

Sonic walked into the kitchen and saw that Shadow was still there, now holding the glass that Tails had tried to kill him with earlier.

Sonic suddenly had a horrible mental image of Shadow trying to kill him with the glass, as if Tails' insanity were an infection and Shadow was just another victim of that infection.

_I'm going to kill you,_Sonic heard in his mind, in both Esplouge's voice as well as Shadow's. It occurred to him for the first time just how similar their voices sounded. _I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to enjoy every. Last. Second._

Sonic felt his body tence up, his imagination playing tricks on his mind, telling him that Shadow was going to hurt him even though rational thought told him otherwise. Shadow was there to help him figure out what was wrong with Tails, Shadow would never...

_Shadow would never hurt me,_ Sonic thought. _We may hate each other, but I don't think he'd ever try to kill me._

_... At least, I hope not._

"I've always wondered why he used glass," Shadow mused, bringing Sonic's mind back to reality. "Do you think he ever told Tails?"

"... I have no idea," Sonic answered flatly, feeling mentally and emotionally drained. "Look, I'm tired and a little freaked out right now, so if we can just get to the point..."

Shadow regarded Sonic, seeming a little surprised that the usually energetic hedgehog was suddenly so drained and serious. He set the glass down on the counter before speaking.

"I'm still not sure which one of them killed Amy," Shadow said. "I'd like to think it was Esplouge, but..."

"If we could just get to what you _do_ know," Sonic prompted. "Other deaths were mentioned, let's talk about that."

Shadow paused for a moment before speaking.

"Tails did kill some people the night Esplouge died," Shadow explained slowly. "I'm not sure how many. I just walked up on him and... Well, he wasn't happy, to say the least."

"What. _Happened?_" Sonic asked angrily, surprising Shadow again.

"... Tails claimed to be Esplouge, for one thing," Shadow explained. "He did the same thing to you, right?"

Sonic nodded.

"I asked him what the hell he was doing," Shadow continued. "I... Try to imagine it, Sonic. Try to imagine him looking so much like that monster. I thought he was Esplouge at first. I seriously thought it was him until he looked at me. It was dark out, but his fur is so much lighter than Esplouge's was... Well, the parts of his fur that didn't have blood on it, anyway..."

"How'd he react?" Sonic asked, trying to keep Shadow on track.

"He tried to kill me," Shadow answered flatly. "With glass, like Esplouge used to do."

"And then what?" Sonic asked.

"I got the hell out of there," Shadow said. "I didn't want to hurt him. I know how much that would have pissed you off. So I ran the moment I saw an opening after trying to talk some sense into him. You should have been there, Sonic. He was acting so much like Esplouge... And considering the way he acted when he saw me, I'd assume he must have known how much Esplouge hated me..."

"What makes you say that?" Sonic asked, cutting Shadow off.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shadow asked. "Tails was acting like him, even claiming to _be_ him, but... Well, Tails wouldn't be able to act _exactly_like Esplouge had. He'd only be able to recreate what he knew of Esplouge. But the way he attacked me... Tails only saw Esplouge and I fight once, and even then, it was very brief. There's no way Tails would have known how to act then unless Esplouge had mentioned it at some point."

"You do realize how insane this sounds, don't you?" Sonic asked flatly. "So, what, since Tails sometimes claims to be Esplouge, that automatically means he has a split personality or something? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I didn't say that," Shadow said. "I'm just telling you what I know of the situation. You've been around him more than I have these past few months. I assume you know more about what's going on with him than I do."

Sonic's eyes wandered toward the ground guiltily.

"I've actually only been here for a couple of days," Sonic admitted. "Tails seemed like he needed some space after Esplouge died, and... Well, I was practically _celebrating_ that little bastard's death, so naturally, I assumed Tails wouldn't want to be around me. If I had known about what was going on with him..."

"I guess you had no way of knowing," Shadow said. "If I had known you weren't going to be around him, I would have told you about it sooner. But other than claiming to be Esplouge, how has Tails been acting since you've been here?"

"He... I dunno. He seems to be in another place sometimes," Sonic said. "Like he's not all here mentally. Heh, you used to get like that sometimes, didn't you?"

Sonic offered a weak smile, trying to appear his usual silly self. He knew that Shadow saw right through it, but it made him feel a little better anyway.

"We really didn't know anything about Esplouge, did we?" Shadow asked, looking away from Sonic and back to the glass lying harmlessly on the counter as he spoke.

Sonic gave the dark hedgehog a quizzical look.

"Where did that come from?"

"Every time Tails talks about him... It's like he brings up something completely new every time," Shadow said. "We really don't know anything about him."

"... Again, where is this coming from, exactly?" Sonic asked.

"Think about it. All we ever really knew about Esplouge was that he was insane and homicidal. But Tails knew him a lot better than that."

"Well, yeah," Sonic said. "Tails spent a lot more time around him than we did, and I'm pretty sure he only slept when Esplouge was out killing more people."

"And why would you assume that?" Shadow asked.

"'Cause Tails said that Esplouge had... problems... sleeping..."

As Sonic spoke, he felt Shadow's point sink in. He realized that to everyone save for Tails, Esplouge was somewhat of a mystery, an enigma; which meant that if Tails thought he was Esplouge, his actions would be almost entirely unpredictable.

"And we know that Esplouge tortured him, so Tails was likely only able to sleep when Esplouge was away at that time," Shadow finished. "And none of us knew that Esplouge was an experiment until he told Tails about it. I had my suspicions and all, but I never had any proof..."

"... We really don't know anything about him," Sonic said. "Esplouge, I mean."

Sonic and Shadow remained in an awkward silence for a moment before Sonic spoke up again.

"So, what should we do about this mess?" Sonic asked. "Tails probably won't listen to us if we just up and tell him he's crazy."

_And I'm not willing to accept that quite yet,_ Sonic thought bitterly. _There's gotta be some other explanation..._

"So what should we do?" Sonic finished.

"... I don't know," Shadow admitted.

_He's not really Esplouge, so Sonic would never let me kill him,_ Shadow thought, eyeing the glass on the counter, wanting nothing more than to pick it up and slash Esp- Tails' throat and see the end of the insanity. _Still... That would be the easiest solution to this little problem..._

"If anything, we should observe him for a while to see just how dangerous he is," Shadow continued, forcing his eyes back to Sonic. "If he has any triggers that cause him to act... the way he's been acting. The more we understand the situation, the better our chances to fix it."

"... Yeah, I guess," Sonic agreed. "So, are you gonna stay here with us or what?"

"Hunh?"

"Well, you said that _we_ should observe him," Sonic pointed out. "That includes you, too, buddy. So, are you gonna stay here with us or just drop in from time to time?"

Shadow appeared uncomfortable.

_If I stay here with them,_ Shadow thought, _then there'll be nothing to stop me from simply picking up that glass after Sonic falls asleep and..._

"I... I'd rather not stay here with him, to be honest," Shadow said awkwardly. "I'll always be a phone call away if you need me, though."

There was a pause, and Shadow added a bit cynically;

"And don't call me unless you have an actual _reason_ to."

"Ha ha, you know I'd never abuse the privilege of having your cell number," Sonic teased. "But seriously, this isn't the best time for jokes. Maybe after we get all of this resolved."

_I'll have to remember to change my cell number,_Shadow thought, observing Sonic's cheeky grin with disgust. _That is, of course, if he isn't driven insane by the end of this._

Shadow shuddered at the thought. He wasn't sure why, but something about the thought just felt so...

He couldn't find the right word for it. But something inside Shadow right then told him to stay with Sonic and Tails, that something terrible was going to happen, but he ignored the feeling. After all, he felt no obligation to protect either of them, and he wanted to stay as far away from Tails as possible.

"Well," Shadow said, pushing down the feeling of unease, "I'll be off then."

"See ya," Sonic said, watching Shadow leave. He had honestly wanted Shadow to stay with them, feeling that outnumbering Tails would have been helpful in case of another attack, but he wasn't about to drop to his knees and beg Shadow to stay. He still had his dignity.

Sonic waited in the kitchen for a moment before going upstairs to check on Tails, hoping that the fox was at least asleep. He opened Tails' door a crack and peered in. At the very least, it _looked_ like Tails was asleep, but after all that had been going on, Sonic wasn't so sure if Tails was really sleeping.

_What am I thinking? Tails was probably exaggerating, there's no way he'd be able to even fake sanity if he hasn't been sleeping for so long..._

Nevertheless, Sonic crept quietly into the room, trying to catch a sign of Tails being awake. He sure looked like he was asleep.

"Tails?" Sonic whispered, not wanting to wake the fox up if he was actually asleep. "You awake?"

Tails didn't respond.

Sonic accepted this as proof that the fox was asleep, so he quietly crept out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. His mind cried out for him to stay with Tails, to make sure he slept, but his body was crying out for sleep, so he quickly made his way to the guest room, prepared for a nice, long rest. He was sure Tails would be okay until the morning hit.

* * *

Tails rolled over when he heard the door close and stared into the darkness, just as he had been doing since Sonic had made him go to bed. Of course, he hadn't slept the whole time, not even a wink. He had just stared into the darkness, as if waiting.

What he was waiting for, however, even he didn't know. All he knew was that he felt an urge, one he had felt numerous times since Esplouge had died, although it was something he still didn't understand.

He wanted to see red. Lots and lots of red.

_The smell of blood really is quite intoxicating,_he heard Esplouge say in his mind. Tails sat up and saw Esplouge sitting at the foot of his bed, smirking to himself. _Don't you want to smell it again?_

"But it's wrong..." Tails said. "Isn't it? Killing people is wrong."

_We don't have to kill anyone, then,_he heard Esplouge say. _We can just cut them over and over... Over and over..._

"But hurting people is..."

Tails felt Esplouge pin him down, just as he always had when he was still alive.

But, of course, Esplouge was still alive. In Tails' mind, Esplouge was still alive. How else could Tails still talk to him?

Tails stared into Esplouge's eyes, scared by how dull they appeared.

_You're going to have to get used to this, _Tails heard Esplouge say. _All of this. I will never leave you alone, for as long as you live._

"But... I don't want you to leave," Tails said. "I don't want you to d-die."

Esplouge smiled darkly.

_Well, that's good. Because when you die, the very last thing you see will be my face staring back at you. And then after you die, we will be together forever and ever. For all eternity, it will be just me and you._

"Because we're friends, right?" Tails asked timidly. "You're staying with me because we're friends?"

_Of course. We're best friends._

Tails sat back up, watching what he believed was Esplouge walk towards the door.

_Are you coming?_

"What do you mean?" Tails asked. "Sonic said that, maybe, I should be getting some sleep. I mean, we haven't slept in days, and didn't that give you problems before...?"

_We're going to play a game before going to sleep._

Tails appeared unsure.

_Come on. Just one short, teeny-tiny little game, and then you can go to sleep for as long as you want. I promise._

Tails decided that that sounded good enough, so he hopped out of bed and followed Esplouge down the stairs.


	9. Head Games

"Esplouge, what are we doing?" Tails whispered, scared of waking Sonic up. He felt guilty enough that he hadn't been sleeping when he said he would, and he certainly didn't want to see Sonic's reaction if he found out that he and Esplouge were still awake.

Sonic had seemed a lot less agreeable as of late. Tails found that at the moment, he couldn't figure out why, but Sonic seemed so... disagreeable now; as though he was uncomfortable and angry about something, although Tails couldn't figure out what it was.

_You'll see,_Esplouge replied, dragging Tails by the hand, leading the small fox down the stairs and toward the kitchen.

"But I'm sleepy," Tails argued, still keeping his voice as quiet as possible. "Can't we do this tomorrow or something?"

_Nah, it's not as fun in the daylight, and you know how impatient I am..._

"Why are we going to the kitchen?" Tails asked. "Are we getting a snack or something?"

_... Not quite..._

Esplouge stopped in front of the counter and Tails immediately saw what it was that Esplouge had lead him to.

A shard of glass. The one Esplouge had tried to cut Sonic with just earlier that night. In Tails' mind, it had been Esplouge who had attacked Sonic, Esplouge who was going insane.

"... I don't understand..." was all Tails could manage.

_See, this is a really fun game. Go ahead, pick up the glass._

Tails did as he was told, afraid of how Esplouge would respond if he didn't do what he said. Tails felt he could trust Esplouge for the most part, but when Esplouge got angry, he became blindly violent. Tails cared for him deeply, but he was still afraid of invoking Esplouge's near-unstoppable wrath. Besides, Esplouge had seemed even more unstable than usual recently, soTails figured it'd be safer to just get whatever Esplouge had in mind over with.

The glass felt wrong in his hands. Tails hated the way it felt, hated the thought of what Esplouge would make him do with it. He looked to Esplouge hopefully, hoping that Esplouge wouldn't make him do anything other than hand it over.

_We're going to play a little game,_Esplouge began, _where I give you two options. You have to choose the one you'd rather do, and then you have to do it. Are you ready?_

"I... I wanna go to sleep..." Tails said. "Can we... Can we play this another time? Please?"

_No, no, that'll never do. We're playing this game here and now. Now, are you ready to hear what your two options are? I chose them especially for you..._

Tails shook his head.

"I... I don't... I don't trust you..."

Esplouge appeared annoyed by this.

_If you don't play, I'll cut you. I'll cut into your flesh so deeply, I might just have to cut your skin off entirely. I'd love to see what you look like with no skin..._

Esplouge licked his lips at the thought, his usual sadistic habit returning. Tails felt a chill go up his spine, remembering all the times he had seen Esplouge lick his lips before doing something violent, usually to Tails himself. The last thing he wanted was for that to happen again.

"N- no," Tails said quickly. "I-I'll play, just please don't hurt me."

_Very well then. Option one; you take the glass and sneak into Sonic's room as quietly as you can so you don't wake him up and you cut his heart out._

Tails appeared mortified, literally feeling the blood drain from his face. How could Esplouge even _consider_ asking him to do such an unthinkably horrible thing? No matter what happened, Tails knew he could never find it in himself to even attack Sonic, much less kill him.

_Option two,_Esplouge continued, _you take that glass and you cut your arms open over and over until you pass out. Or die, whichever comes first._

"You've gotta be kidding..."

_You agreed to play the game, so which will you choose? Will you kill your friend to spare yourself the pain like the selfish little bastard that you are, or will you hurt yourself to spare your friend?_

"I... I don't want to hurt myself..."

_Then you'll have to kill Sonic._

"I don't wanna do that, either."

_You have to choose, Tails,_Esplouge taunted. _That's how this game works._

"But I don't want to!" Tails argued, having trouble keeping his voice down. "I don't want to hurt myself, but I couldn't live with myself if I ever let anything happen to Sonic!"

_Then kill yourself after killing him._

Esplouge grinned. He grabbed Tails by the shoulders and turned him around, leaning his chin on Tails' shoulder to speak drectly into his ear. Tails shuddered, surprised by how cold Esplouge felt.

_... Or better yet, let me kill you._

"N- no..."

_Then choose, _Esplouge ordered. _Right now. Which are you going to choose?_

Tails stared at the glass for a moment, disgusted with the way it glinted in the moonlight that faintly poured in from the kitchen window. He knew that it was going to hurt someone tonight, that Esplouge was completely in control.

"I... I can't do it..." Tails said. "I can't hurt Sonic, but I can't hurt myself, either. I... I can't do it, Esplouge."

Esplouge gently removed the glass from Tails' hand.

_Fine, then. I'll give you two alternatives to the choices I gave you. Would you rather I kill Sonic, or would you rather I cut you until you pass out?_

"I... Please don't hurt Sonic."

_You want me to cut you, then?_

"I... I don't _want_ you to... But I can't let you hurt Sonic. He's still my best friend."

Tails winced as he felt the glass touch his skin. He hated the feeling, the feeling of terror that gripped him, but he knew it was better than what he would be feeling if he had to watch Esplouge kill Sonic. At least this way, his friend would be spared.

_This might sting a little, sweetheart..._

Tails closed his eyes, refusing to cry out as he felt the glass dig into his arm, knowing that if he woke Sonic, Esplouge would likely hurt him as well. Even as he felt the world fade away into unconsciousness, the only thing keeping him from crying out was the thought that this way, at least Sonic would be safe.

* * *

Tails woke up some time later, unable to remember what had happened to him for a few moments. Sonic had told him to go to sleep, and then...

And then Esplouge had come. And then Esplouge had cut him, and then he had blacked out.

Tails strained to open his eyes and succeeded. He was lying on the couch in his living room, staring up at the ceiling. Judging from the amount of light, it was probably somewhere around the afternoon.

"Sonic?" Tails called weakly, trying and failing to sit up. "Where are you?"

"He nearly had a panic attack," Shadow's voice said, sounding very close. "He was so scared, he didn't know what to do."

"I didn't want to..." Tails said. "Esplouge kept cutting me and he wouldn't stop. He said that if I didn't let him cut me, he'd kill Sonic."

"Esplouge is dead, Tails."

Tails tried to sit again, barely succeeding to lean himself awkwardly against the arm of the couch. He stared at Shadow, who was sitting in a nearby chair.

"No, he's not," Tails argued. "He cut me. He still talks to me."

"You cut _yourself_," Shadow corrected, matching Tails' tone. "You talk to _yourself_. You claimed to not be sleeping, which I have no doubt about. You're a smart kid, I would think _you_ of all people would understand the effects that sleep deprivation can have on the mind."

"But... Esplouge won't let me go to sleep..."

"He's _dead_, Tails," Shadow continued. "Esplouge is dead. You might have an easier time accepting that if you'd get some fucking _sleep_ once in a while."

"... How long did I sleep last night?" Tails challenged. "What time is it now?"

"You passed out around two," Shadow began, understanding where Tails was going with this line of conversation. "And it's about noon now. But you can't just reverse the effects of sleep deprivation by getting a single night of sleep; you have to actually work at it. It could take _months_ before you're completely back to normal."

Tails merely stared at Shadow. His eyes wandered down to his arms, which were covered in bandages.

"I don't understand what's going on with me," Tails said softly. "I mean... I know in my logical mind that Esplouge is d- dead... But I keep seeing him everywhere and he talks to me... And last night, he cut my arms..."

"_You_ cut your arms," Shadow corrected.

"R- right... But all of this... I don't know what's real anymore," Tails said. "Are _you_ even real? Am I still just talking to myself?"

_What do you think?_

Tails startled, seeing Esplouge approach Shadow from behind, unable to make a sound as he watched Esplouge slowly rip open Shadow's throat with the same shard of glass he had cut Tails with earlier. Shadow's body fell uselessly to the floor, blood gushing out from his throat. Esplouge stood over him menacingly before looking toward Tails.

_Oh, look, you're awake, _Esplouge said, a grin on his face. _Now we can play some more..._

Tails screamed.

* * *

"Tails! Tails, wake up!" Sonic cried, trying to shake the flailing fox awake. "Tails, for the love of God, _wake up!_"

The glass Tails had been carving his arm with had fallen harmlessly to the ground, much to Sonic's relief. Tails had already cut himself in the middle of the night, and now he had reopened the wounds, bandages and all.

_How can anyone do this to themselves in their sleep?_ Sonic wondered. _Esplouge was crazy enough, I could see how he could do it, but Tails..._

Sonic had to remember that night before Esplouge had died, when Esplouge had seemed almost harmless, and then all of a sudden, had carved his arms open in the middle of the night, seemingly in his sleep, just as Tails was doing now. Sonic could remember the feeling he had had when Esplouge had done it; the feeling of secretly hoping that Esplouge would bleed to death, but now that it was happening to Tails...

"_Tails!_" Sonic screamed, shaking Tails as firmly but gently as he could manage.

Tails' blank eyes snapped to life and he immediately began to cry. He tried to pull away from Sonic, nearly falling to the ground as he did so. He stared at Sonic with a look of fear, the same fear he had expressed whenever he had seen Esplouge. It took Sonic everything he had not to cry when he saw the expression on Tails' face.

"It's _me_," Sonic said gently. "Tails, it's _me_. _Sonic_."

"B-b-but I-I-I d-don't underst-stand..." Tails said, the stutter he had developed after their first encounter with Esplouge becoming more pronounced than ever. He was shaking so hard, it looked like it physically hurt.

Of course, Tails _was_ physically hurt, although Sonic was sure it wasn't from the shaking.

"Es-Esplouge... Esplouge..."

"He's not here, Tails," Sonic said, straining to keep the anguish he felt out of his voice. "It's just you and me. He's not here, and he can't hurt you anymore."

"B-b-but he h-hurt me..."

"No," Sonic corrected. "You... You did this to yourself, Tails. You were asleep, and..."

"But I was only asleep because _you_ told me to!" Tails shouted suddenly. "_You_ told me that if I slept, it would be good for me, _and now you're saying I fucking cut myself in my sleep?_"

"C- calm down, Tails..."

"I _never_ hurt myself when I was awake," Tails said, already seeming burnt out from his outburst. "I... I never hurt myself when I was awake. But now I hurt myself because I was asleep, so sleep is bad for me..."

"No, sleep is _good_ for you," Sonic argued. "You _need_ to get more sleep, otherwise things like this will keep happening."

"But I hurt myself because I was asleep!" Tails argued. "How on earth can you say that sleep is good for me with a straight face when my arms are fucking _bleeding?_"

"You're _sick_, Tails!" Sonic shouted back, his patience running out. "Ever since Esplouge died, you've been acting completely fucking _insane_!"

Tails stared at Sonic with an expression of shock as Sonic silently wished he could take back what he had just said. Granted, it was the truth, but it was a little harsher than Sonic had intended.

"Oh man... Listen, I didn't mean that..."

"You think I'm insane," Tails more stated than asked. "You think I'm 'completely fucking insane'?"

"That... That came out wrong..."

"You have no idea what's going on with me," Tails said, anger creeping into the hurt in his voice. "You haven't even really talked to me since Esplouge... died... You have no idea what's been going on with me."

"You shut me out!" Sonic argued defensively. "You acted like you didn't even want anything to do with me!"

"Yeah, well Esplouge acts like he hates me sometimes, but I still know he cares about me!" Tails argued. "He just gets a little angry sometimes, but I know he still cares about me!"

"He's _dead_, he can't still care about you!" Sonic shouted. "I'm still alive, why can't you let me care about you?"

Sonic felt tears falling down his face, although whether they were sad or angry, he had no idea. He found himself not caring that he was crying, even though in virtually any other situation, he would be running away and claiming that he had allergies or something.

This situation felt a little more important than his male pride.

"I just... God, Tails... Why can't you understand how I feel about you? You're like my little brother, and seeing you hurt like this... I just can't stand it!"

"D- don't cry, Sonic..." Tails said softly. "Crying's for girls... And Shadow."

Sonic stared at the sad attempt at a smile that had appeared on Tails' face and offered an equally pathetic smile in response.

"Yeah..." Sonic said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "I just... I'm just so worried about you. You never let me know what's going on with you anymore, and... There's obviously something wrong, even if you don't want to admit it. But I'm just so worried about you, Tails."

"Esplouge tells me that he's worried about me, too," Tails said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "He says that I keep... slipping. Like sometimes I'm there, and sometimes I'm not."

Tails paused for a moment, realizing from Sonic's expression that this probably wasn't the best way to go about telling Sonic what was going on.

"Sometimes I think I'm talking to him... But then I... Wake up, I guess... And I'm doing something else entirely," Tails explained. "Like walking or trying to sleep. I'm not sure if I've even been sleeping at all recently, because every time I think I'm asleep, I'm awake, and sometimes when I think I'm awake, I'm actually asleep. I think..."

Tails looked to Sonic as if expecting some sort of answer, something profound that would explain the mess he was in, but Sonic merely stared back at him, appearing both confused and absolutely mortified.

"... I have no idea what to do with you," Sonic admitted. "I... I'm sure it makes perfect sense to you, but I don't understand what you're talking about at all."

Tails continued to stare flatly at Sonic for a moment before walking over and picking up the glass he had dropped. He stared at it fixedly, taking no notice of the worried expression that had reappeared on Sonic's face.

"... I saw Shadow when I woke up," Tails said. "And he was telling me that Esplouge is dead and stuff... And then I told him... I told him how confused I've been, how I sometimes don't know what's real or not anymore... And then Esplouge walked up behind him and just... Cut him. He just walked up behind Shadow and cut his throat open, and then Shadow fell down... d-dead. And... And then Esplouge came after me... And I screamed. I just... screamed, I was so scared..."

"... What?" Sonic asked, unsure of what Tails was talking about.

"And then... And then you were shaking me and yelling at me... Trying to wake me up, I guess... And to be honest... I'm still not sure I'm awake. I keep expecting to look at you like how I looked at Shadow and see Esplouge walking up behind you to kill you, too. And it scares me, it scares the hell out of me."

Tails looked to Sonic, relieved to see that he was still standing where he had been, nothing at all unusual happening around him.

"... I guess my point is... You are _real_, right? You're not just another thing in my head that I can't turn off, are you?"

_Of course he is, Tails, _Esplouge's voice said suddenly. _He's fake, just like everything else in your deranged little mind._

"... Esplouge... Esplouge is dead..." Tails said, more to the voice he had been hearing rather than to himself or Sonic. "Esplouge is dead, and he's not coming back this time. If I go check on him, his body will be right where I left it and he'll still be... lifeless... Just like he was when I left him... Won't he?"

"He... um..." Sonic thought for a moment before speaking again. "Wait, 'Where you left him'? Where did you leave him, Tails?"

Sonic had assumed that Tails had just buried Esplouge's body somewhere nearby, but Tails' wording seemed a bit off to him.

Tails merely stared at Sonic.

"Tails? Are you okay?"

"... He wants to hurt you," Tails said quietly. "He wants me to hurt you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Esplouge told me to hurt you," Tails said. "He said that if I didn't hurt myself, he'd kill you. But... But I couldn't do it, I couldn't hurt myself, so he did it for me..."

"T- Tails, you did that to yourself," Sonic explained, unable to hide the discomfort he felt. "You... You were just saying how you know that Esplouge is dead, weren't you?"

"Oh? Then..."

Tails seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, staring at the floor. The fist holding the glass tightened a little. As Sonic was about to ask him what was wrong, Tails looked back to him, an eerily calm expression on his face.

"... then how do explain my presence?" Tails finished, smirking.

"T-Tails...?"

Tails began to play unconsciously with the glass in his hand, his smirk growing.

"... Try again."

Sonic cursed loudly as he dodged to the side, barely avoiding getting cut from the glass Tails had nearly sliced him with.

"What's the point of dodging?" Tails asked coldly, turning to face Sonic, who, despite his instinct telling him otherwise, refused to leave. "You know I'm gonna get you eventually, _Sonic_."


	10. Doctor Frankenstein

Sonic and Tails stared at each other for a moment that seemed to drag on for a lifetime. Tails ran at Sonic again, tried to cut him, but Sonic easily dodged and Tails wound up crashing into the wall. Tails fell and nearly dropped the glass he was holding, but he quickly got back up and turned to face Sonic, who appeared absolutely mortified. Tails smirked.

"You might be faster than me, _Sonic,_" Tails began, his voice dripping with hate the moment he said Sonic's name, "but I'll still get you. I was designed to kill you and anyone else who got in Eggman's way, and that's something I can agree with. Of course, my old _master_ is dead by my hands, but then again, that was his own fault. He screwed up, so he had to pay. Like you."

"T-Tails..."

"For the last time, I'm not your little friend," Tails said. "Think about it. Tails knew me pretty well, wouldn't you say? But there are things about me he'd have no way of figuring out. Only I know those things. Just ask, I have tons of things going on in my head that I could tell you about, if you live long enough to get to that."

Tails prepared for another attack, which Sonic dodged again. Tails turned to face Sonic again, appearing annoyed.

"Come on, you used to be a lot more interesting to play with when you actually fought back," Tails complained. "Why are you dodging me?"

"I... I'm not going to hurt you, Tails," Sonic said, hoping that if he said Tails' name enough times, the illusion would fall apart. "You... We're _friends_, remember? We're best friends..."

Sonic dodged another attack and found himself between Tails and the kitchen wall. Tails smirked.

"Keep telling youself that," Tails said. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide... This is like a dream come true. All we need is for Shadow to be there with you and for Tails to be watching, and it'd be absolute _perfection._"

"You _are_ Tails!" Sonic shouted. "Esplouge is dead!"

"Is that so?" Tails asked. "Then how am I here now? Do you really think that convincing me that I'm insane will save you? I've got news for you, Sonic; I _know_ I'm crazy. I'm _aware_ of how fucked up I am, isn't that lovely? You can't manipulate me by convincing me that my reality isn't the correct one; I don't fucking _care_ if my reality isn't the correct one. My reality is _mine_, and that's all I really care about."

"T- Tails..."

"Do you remember making Shadow and Metal Sonic attack me a little while back?" Tails asked. "When my memory decided to take a little vacation, and I was acting all innocent and crap, and then for no _fucking_ reason _you sent those two bastards after me!_ And do you know what I put all of my energy into? No, not protecting myself, I actually put all of my energy into holding on to a stupid piece of paper and some money you gave me because I didn't want to let you and Tails down! Do you fucking remember that?"

Sonic looked at Tails guiltily.

"Y- yes... But Tails would know about that, wouldn't he? You were there, Tails."

Tails stared at Sonic flatly for a moment.

"Very well, then. What's something only you and I would remember? How about when my pyrotechnic friend and I tricked you and Amy into falling into one of my little traps? Remember, it was after I kidnapped Tails, and then I called his house from Amy's, and you two just came running right into my trap. If my 'friend' had followed my orders, you and her would have died then. Of course, dear Miss Rose is dead now, so that just leaves you..."

"Es- Esplouge could have told you about that after the fact..." Sonic reasoned, his eyes fixed on the glass in Tails' hand. "That doesn't prove that you're him."

Tails appeared somewhat annoyed.

"You're just trying to buy time, aren't you?"

"No... I'm trying to prove to you how completely _insane_ you're acting!" Sonic shouted, his fear and frustration getting the better of him. "You're _Tails_, not Esplouge!"

"... You'd never yell at Tails like this," Tails pointed out coldly. "I can't see you doing it. You care about him too much, or am I mistaken? Do you even care about him at all?"

"Yes, of course I care about you," Sonic said, appearing utterly shocked. "You're my little bro, you _know_ that..."

Tails held the glass close to Sonic's throat threateningly. Sonic tenced up, trying to press himself closer to the wall behind him.

"I am _not_ your 'little bro'," Tails said sharply. "I am Eggman's failed attempt at recreating the ultimate life form. I am, in essence, a walking chaos emerald."

"... What?"

"... You're about to die anway, so I guess it's okay to tell you," Tails said thoughtfully. "That fool tried to create his own ultimate life, a slave, essentially, but there was one itty-bitty problem. He couldn't figure out how to give it life. So he turned to the only thing he knew that had power capable of doing such a thing, of creating life; a chaos emerad. Of course, there were... some side-effects that resulted because of that."

"Such as...?" Sonic asked.

"... It hurts me when I go near it," Tails explained. "The emerald he used, it keeps trying to take the energy back whenever I go near it. And if it does that, I'll die. For good."

"... You're talking about the red emerald, right?" Sonic asked, trying to form some sort of plan in his head as he spoke. "That one's in here."

Sonic was completely unaware that his bluff was really the truth.

"... You're lying," Tails accused. "I can feel the emeralds when they're close to me, _especially_ that one. But I can't feel it right now."

"That's because it's in a different part of the house," Sonic continued, hoping his plan would work. "I could even show it to you, if you just let me..."

"I'm not letting you escape," Tails said quickly. "Besides, I know you're lying."

"Do you, really?" Sonic asked. "I know for a fact it's in here."

"... Where?" Tails asked, giving in a little, worried that Sonic really was telling the truth and would use the emerald to hurt him.

Sonic was relieved when Tails removed the glass from his throat.

"It's... In my room," Sonic lied. "Under my bed. I was cleaning, you know, and..."

"... Stay here," Tails ordered.

Tails left, heading toward where Sonic said the emerald would be. Sonic, not being one for following orders, dashed up the stairs as fast as he could, heading for Tails' room. There was a phone in there, and if he could just get a hold of Shadow...

Sonic tore the door to the room open at around the same time he heard Tails yell something about knowing that Sonic had lied. Sonic hurried into the room, barely bothering to close the door much less lock it, and tripped over something on his way to the phone. Sonic pulled himself up and saw that he had tripped over a chair. He double-taked when a red glint caught his eye.

The red chaos emerald, the one Sonic had bluffed about, was really there, lying on the floor under Tails' desk. Sonic made a dash for it just as Tails stepped into the door frame of the room.

"It wasn't there," Tails said. He caught sight of the emerald and tensed up. "Crap..."

"What? You thought I was lying?" Sonic asked. "I just forgot where it was."

_I can't believe it was in here,_ Sonic thought as he spoke. _I can't fucking believe it was in here._

"It won't hurt you," Sonic continued. "Seriously, come in here. The emerald can't hurt you, it could only hurt Esplouge."

"... I _am_ Esplouge, you stupid..."

Sonic threw the emerald at Tails and the fox dashed away from it as if terrified.

"Why isn't it glowing like it used to?" Sonic asked, picking up the emerald and follwing Tails out of the room. Tails was about halfway down the staircase. "It always used to glow when it was around Esplouge, right? All of the emeralds used to glow when they were around Esplogue."

"Keep that thing away from me!" Tails shouted, backing away a few more steps.

"Tails, there's no reason for you to be afraid of this thing," Sonic continued, trying to shove reason down Tails' throat. "It's not glowing like it used to. See?"

"... It could be a trap," Tails said. "Or it's not close enough to me."

"You know that's a load of crap," Sonic countered. "The emeralds would glow even when he was pretty far away. Remember, they started glowing again on the day Esplouge kidnapped you a second time. Don't you remember, Tails?"

Tails stared at Sonic, seeming unsure.

"... Why would I remember that?" he asked thoughtfully. "I'm not Tails..."

"And don't you remember being so scared that you had to go warn Shadow that Esplouge was still alive?" Sonic continued. "You were completely freaking out, because you knew Esplouge better than anyone, and you knew that he was going to go after Shadow if he didn't come after you first. Don't you remember?"

"... Why would I remember that?" Tails asked again. "I... I shouldn't have his memories... Nothing from immediately before Eggman started working on me and anything after that anyway..."

Sonic walked down the steps, still holding the chaos emerald. Tails made no move to get away, wrapped up in his own mind, trying to figure out what was going on.

"You remember because you _are_ Tails," Sonic said. "Esplouge's memories, the ones you think you have, are probably just a result of the time you spent with him. He ranted to you a lot, didn't he?"

"Y- yeah... Yeah, he ranted to me a lot," Tails said. "About how much he wanted to kill you and Shadow and everyone else, and about how fun it was for him to hurt me... Oh my god, Sonic, what the hell's going on with me? Why... What's going on with me? Why is this happening?"

"I don't know," Sonic admitted. "Do you think you should get some sleep? I think that might help a little."

Tails seemed unsure for a moment. He looked to his arms which were still bleeding and then to the chaos emerald in Sonic's hands. He snatched the emerald and held it close to him.

"... Don't touch him..."

"What?"

"Esplouge hates you," Tails said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "And he's in here somewhere, so you shouldn't touch it."

"Um... How is he in the emerald, exactly?" Sonic asked, deeply concerned.

"... Eggman used this emerald to put life into Esplouge," Tails explained. "And this emerald took that life away from him. But he's still somewhere in here."

Tails began to walk toward his room, ready to wash out his wounds and then go to sleep.

"... All I have to do is figure out how Eggman was able to get the emerald's energy into his body, and then I'll be able to bring him back..."

"What? Why would you want him back?"

Tails startled upon hearing Sonic's voice. He turned back to Sonic, appearing terrified.

"What... Why are you yelling at me?"

"You just said you were going to try and bring that little monster back!" Sonic exclaimed. "Why would you even consider doing that?"

Tails stared at Sonic flatly for a moment.

"... Because he's my friend," Tails said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I can't bring Amy or Cream back, but Esplouge is someone I can work with. His body hasn't started to decay or anything, because his body's artificial. And since his mind is somewhere in the chaos emerald, all I have to do is figure out what Eggman messed up on so I can recreate him, but have him be more... stable. I'm going to make him happy and friendly, not like how he was before. I'm not stupid, Sonic, I've thought all of this out."

"... I didn't say you were stupid, Tails..."

"Then don't question me," Tails said harshly. "I'm not going to even try anything until I'm absolutely sure it can work. I'm going to make Esplouge come back to life, but I'm going to make him stable and happy. That way, I can have him back and he can finally be happy. Of course, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with his memories, since it'd probably be better if he didn't have those anymore. Of course, then he might not remember me, and I don't want that, either... I'm still a long way from even starting anything, so you don't have to worry, Sonic."

Tails headed back up the staris without another word, and Sonic merely stared after him.

"... Yeah, that's _really_ gonna make me not worry," Sonic muttered to himself as soon as he was sure Tails was no longer in ear shot. "Between the homicidal maniac you sometimes claim to be and the mad scientist that you seem to be becoming, I'm not sure which is worse..."

Sonic spent the rest of the night on the couch watching televison, afraid to go to sleep lest Tails attack him again.


	11. Disappearing Act

Sonic felt himself drifting off sometime around four in the morning, trying to force himself to stay awake in case Tails freaked out again. He wasn't even sure what was on the television anymore, his mind only able to register that the TV was, in fact, still on. He laid down, resting his head on the arm of the couch, telling himself that he would only take a short nap to refuel his energy.

Of course, that nap turned out to be much longer than he had expected.

* * *

Tails woke up to the sensation of the sun shining in his face through his bedroom window. He groaned, unable to remember the last time he had actually slept. It felt a lot better than he had remembered, and his body was naturally craving more sleep. Tails stretched and sat up slowly, feeling slightly dizzy for reasons unknown. He looked at the bandages around his arms, vaguely remembering why they were there.

He had cut himself. Or had Esplouge done it?

No. Esplouge was dead, so he couldn't have done it. Tails must have done it himself.

The small fox hopped out of bed and headed toward his bathroom, ready to splash some cold water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up. He stood in front of the sink and turned the water on, barely taking notice of Esplouge's reflection in the mirror.

"'Morning, Tails," Esplouge greeted, sounding as sleepy as Tails felt. "I guess neither of us has gotten this whole 'sleeping' thing down, hunh?"

"I guess..." Tails agreed, taking no notice that Esplouge should not have logically been there. "Do you know if we have anything to eat? I'm hungry."

"All we have left is candy," Esplouge answered. "You know, mint candy, our favourite. All of the other food is either gone or rotten."

"Shoot... I don't really have the energy to go to the store, though," Tails said, more thinking out loud than anything else.

"Then we can just eat the candy," Esplouge suggested. "We can go shopping later."

"But candy's not breakfast," Tails objected. "I'd rather eat some real food, like toast or cereal or something before I eat candy."

"But we don't have any other food," Esplouge objected, a slight harshness creeping into his voice. "And you don't have the energy to go to the store and buy more food. You need to eat _something_."

Tails stared at the water falling from the faucet as if in deep thought.

"Yeah... I guess you're right," Tails agreed.

Tails turned around and saw that Esplouge was holding some candy out toward him, offering it.

_Something seems off here..._ Tails thought. However, he dismissed this thought.

Tails reached out and accepted the candy, his sense of worry only increasing as he held what he was pretty sure was mint-flavoured candy. For some reason, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about it.

"Aren't you going to eat it?" Esplouge asked. "I brought it especially for you, 'cause I know it's your favourite."

_This smells wrong,_ Tails thought as he held the 'candy' closer to his face. _It doesn't smell like mint at all..._

"I don't know," Tails said, hoping to avoid an argument. "I think I should probably just get something at the store or something."

"Am I going to have to force-feed it to you?" Esplouge asked, his voice harsh and completely serious. "I'd be perfectly willing to force you to the ground and force that down your throat."

Tails stared at Esplouge for a moment, hoping that the darker fox was joking, but able to tell that he wasn't.

"Jeez, calm down," Tails said finally. "If it's that important to you, I'll eat the candy already."

Esplouge's mood seemed to suddenly lift.

"Great," he said. "I'm gonna go wait downstairs until you're ready to go to the store, okay? I'll start a list of stuff we need."

Esplouge left, leaving Tails holding the candy with the water in the sink still running behind him. He barely took notice of the fact that the water was still on.

_Something about this seems wrong,_ Tails thought again, looking at the candy. _It feels wrong, it smells wrong... But it still looks okay._

Tails brought the candy to his mouth and took a bite...

And immediately spat it out. He was vaguely aware of Sonic standing in the doorway, asking him what he was doing, as he stared at what he had just spat out of his mouth.

The taste of soap lingered in his mouth, and sure enough, the 'candy' that Esplouge had given him turned out to be a bar of soap. Tails stared at the small pile he had spat onto the floor, feeling a growing sense of nausea not helped by his empty stomach.

The next thing Tails knew, he was hunched over the toilet and vomiting. He wasn't really sure what he was vomiting up, but he knew that something must have been in his stomach after all, because there was a lot coming out.

When Tails was finished, he washed his mouth out with water from the bathroom sink and finally took notice of Sonic, who appeared very confused.

"Why did you try to eat soap?" Sonic asked. "You have plenty of real food, and I'm pretty sure it won't make you throw up like that."

"But... Esplouge said that there was no food left," Tails said, realizing as he spoke that that didn't make any sense. "I mean... I thought it was candy..."

"Tails..."

"I'm hungry..." Tails said, trying to get the subject off of his deteriorating psyche. "Do we have anything to eat?"

Sonic appeared concerned for a moment, unsure whether it was a good idea for Tails to be eating immediately after vomiting lest he throw up whatever he ate. He quickly gave in, realizing that Tails needed to eat _something_ at the very least.

"Fine. I'll get you some toast or something," Sonic said. "Something that won't upset your stomach."

Sonic helped Tails stand back up and helped him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Tails sat hunched in a chair by the table, looking as though he were about to pass out, as Sonic tossed some bread in the toaster.

"When did you get here?" Tails asked.

"I've been here for a few days," Sonic answered. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah... I'm sorry, I'm still a little tired."

"It's fine, buddy," Sonic said, even though he was still extremely worried about his friend on the inside. "I'm just here to remind you to eat and sleep on occasion."

_And to make sure you don't go completely insane,_ Sonic thought worriedly.

The toast popped up from the toaster, so Sonic put it on a plate and placed that plate on the table in front of Tails. Tails stared at the food for a moment, almost as if questioning what it was.

"... It's not moldy or anything, is it?" Tails asked.

"No," Sonic said. When Tails looked to him, still seeming unsure, Sonic offered a smile. "Don't worry, I checked."

That answer satisfied Tails, and the fox began to nibble on the food, his stomach unsure whether to accept or reject the food.

"Can we go to the grocery store later?" Tails asked. "We're out of food."

Sonic considered pointing out that they had plenty of food, but gave up, figuring that Tails needed to spend some time out of the house anyway.

"Yeah, sure," he answered. "As long as you feel up to it."

Sonic was about to leave, but Tails cut him off.

"Esplouge wanted to make a cake," Tails said, his voice weak. "So can we get some cake ingredients? Oh, and I think we're out of milk... Esplouge said he'd make a list of the stuff we need..."

Sonic stared at Tails for a moment, barely able to stand seeing his best friend in such a weak and fragile state. The bandages that covered both of Tails' arms certainly weren't helping in that regard.

Neither did the guilt he felt when reminded of what he had done to Esplouge what felt like a lifetime ago, when Esplouge had simply gone out to get some groceries, and Sonic had tried to get him killed. At the time, it had felt justified, as Sonic had been fully convinced that Esplouge was faking his amnesia, but now...

Now he wasn't so sure. And seeing his best friend in such a state certainly wasn't making him feel any less guilty.

"Um... Esplouge isn't here anymore, remember?" Sonic asked finally, trying to be as patient and gentle with Tails as possible. After all, Tails was still his best friend, even if he was acting a bit... crazy, for lack of a better word.

Tails stared at Sonic for a moment, seeming confused, before looking back down at his toast.

"Oh... Yeah..." Tails said sadly. "Um... Hey, why do you think Esplouge left me, Sonic? He told me I was his best friend, his _only_ friend, so why did he leave me?"

Sonic walked back up to the table and sat down on the chair next to Tails, pulling him close as he had done when Tails was younger. Sonic had always been there to protect Tails, and he certainly wasn't going to let that change.

"I don't know, buddy," Sonic said. "But you still have me. You know that, right?"

Tails hugged Sonic back.

"Yeah... I know," Tails said. "You're my best friend, Sonic..."

Sonic held Tails at arm's length away from him, forcing a smile. Tails stared flatly back at him, seeming confused.

"Okay, you should finish eating so we can go to the store," Sonic said. "I've got something to do, but it should only take a minute. I'll be done by the time you're finished, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Tails said.

Tails went back to eating his toast as Sonic got back up and left the room.

Sonic headed toward his room and picked up the phone, hesitating for about half a second before calling Shadow's number.

"What do you want?" Shadow answered, sounding unhappy.

"I... I'm not sure if I can handle Tails on my own anymore," Sonic said. "I don't have very long to talk right now, Tails and I are going to hang out for a bit today, but do you think we could talk about this a bit later, like after I get home?"

Shadow paused a moment, as if in thought.

"Sure," he said. "Just give me a call whenever."

"Thanks, Shads," Sonic said gratefully, knowing full well he was annoying Shadow by using the nickname. "I really owe you one."

"... Whatever," Shadow said before hanging up.

Sonic hung up as well, and went to check on Tails. Tails had finished eating and was placing his plate in the sink, leaving Sonic no time for the other thing he had planned on doing.

_Oh well,_ Sonic thought bitterly. _Maybe later._

"Hey, Tails," Sonic greeted, forcing another smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Tails said, forcing a smile of his own.

* * *

The day was nice, but even so, the walk to the grocery store was a long and awkward one. Tails seemed unwilling to talk for the most part, worrying Sonic that he was back in his mind, talking to Esplouge.

"So... You've been working on any experiments recently?" Sonic asked, trying to encourage conversation.

"Yeah..." Tails answered, seeming as though he weren't all there. "A little, I guess..."

"Anything you want to tell me about?" Sonic asked. "I'm really interested in what you're working on."

Tails stared at Sonic harshly.

"You're only interested in my plan to bring him back to life, aren't you?" Tails asked. "Listen, like I said before, I'm still a long way from even _starting_ it..."

"I just want to know why," Sonic said, figuring that if Tails knew what he was getting at, there was no point in hiding it from him. "That's all."

"... Like I said before," Tails explained harshly, looking away from Sonic as he spoke, "I cared about him a lot. I can't do anything to bring Amy or Cream back to life; they were naturally-born living beings. But Esplouge was an experiment, something that doesn't have to worry about natural biological rot. His body's still in exactly the same condition as..."

Tails trailed off suddenly. Sonic gave him a moment to finish, realized Tails wasn't planning on finishing the sentence, and spoke up himself.

"What were you going to say?" Sonic asked. "'His body's exactly the same as...' what?"

"It's probably not all that healthy if I continue to think about him all the time," Tails said flatly. "I should probably limit that to when I'm working on bringing him back to life."

Sonic wanted to keep questioning Tails about it, but he was unwilling to start an argument of any sort. After all, whether Tails was willing to admit it or not, Sonic was the only person he had right then, and Sonic wasn't going to abandon him for some stupid, easily avoidable argument.

"Fair enough," Sonic said, pretending to agree with the fox. "The weather sure is nice today, isn't it?"

Tails' face lit up.

"Yeah," the fox agreed happily. "It'd be a nice day to fly my plane, but there's so much stuff I have to do..."

"Like what?" Sonic asked.

"Well, going to the store with you, for one..." Tails began.

"Hey, I can always go alone if you'd rather fly your plane around," Sonic offered. "It's a nice enough day, I don't think you should miss the chance."

"Nah..." Tails said dismissively. "I want to hang out with you. We haven't really hung out in a while, you know?"

Sonic smiled, happy that Tails could still act somewhat normal despite the abnormal things that had clearly been going on in his head. It was nice to see the friend he had once known, that innocent child that had been forced away deep into Tails' mind, finally showing itself again.

"That's true," Sonic agreed, looking up at the beautiful, blue sky. "It's nice to just hang out. You wanna do anything after we go to the store?"

Tails thought for a moment.

"Well, if we get anything perishable, we should probably go straight home..." Tails said thoughtfully. "But after that, we could go do something."

"Do you have anything in mind?" Sonic asked.

"Not really," Tails admitted. "We can probably come up with something by the time we bring the groceries home, though, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Sonic agreed, happy that this conversation was turning out pretty normal. Maybe this was all Tails needed, Sonic thought, just some fresh air, sunshine, and some time away from home.

* * *

The two returned to Tails' house some time later with their groceries.

"I've gotta go check on something," Tails said the moment they walked through the door. "Do you think you can put the groceries away for me?"

"Of course," Sonic said. "Was there anywhere else you wanted to go today, or...?"

"Um..." Tails thought for a moment. "Well, it's a really nice day... After I check on that... thing... do you want to go flying for a bit?"

"Sure," Sonic agreed. "That sounds like fun."

Tails smiled and darted away to go check on whatever it was he wanted to check on, leaving Sonic to putting away the groceries.

Tails arrived at the door to the guest room that Sonic usually occupied, hesitated for a moment, and let himself in. He pulled out the red chaos emerald, which he had been holding on to the entire day, and stared at it, disappointed to see that it wasn't glowing like it had when Esplouge was alive.

"... You're not awake yet," Tails said to himself.

An image flashed through his mind, an image of himself sneaking up behind Sonic as the hedgehog was finishing up with the groceries, and then, just as Sonic was about to turn around, he would dig as deeply into Sonic's spine as he possibly could with a shard of glass, hoping that the spilled blood would encourage Esplouge to wake up faster.

"No, that's not going to wake you up," Tails reminded himself, trying to block his mental image out. "None of the others woke you up..."

"Tails?" came Sonic's voice. By the sound of it, Tails guessed that the hedgehog was upstairs. "Where are you?"

Tails exited the room carefully, as though trying not to be seen. Sonic hadn't noticed him, much to his delight.

"Sorry," Tails said, startling the hedgehog and causing him to spin around. "I lost track of time there for a moment."

"Oh..." Sonic said, seeming uncertain. "Do you still want to go out and fly around?"

Tails forced the most convincing smile he could muster.

"Yeah!"

So the two spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening flying around in Tails' plane, which, when the fox thought about it, was the first time he had flown in a very long time. As much as his mind had become all but consumed with thoughts of Esplouge, it was nice to enjoy some old pleasures from time to time. It gave him a chance to forget for once.

And to feel normal.

* * *

Even as night was beginning to set in, Tails had to admit that the day flying around in his plane with Sonic had been a fun one. Sonic was asleep now, lying sprawled out on the couch lazily, just like he used to do when he felt too tired to go to the guest room. Tails stared at Sonic's sleeping form for a moment, taken back in his mind to a time when he was younger and had nightmares frequently. Sonic had always looked just as he did now before Tails would wake him up for comfort.

But that was all in the past. Tails was growing up now, and he certainly didn't need someone else to make him feel better when he was hurt or scared. He had endured so much pain and fear completely alone when Eslpouge had kidnapped him, so much so that he was losing the need for other people to cheer him up when he was feeling down.

That was probably for the better, Tails thought. After all, once he managed to bring Esplouge back to life, none of his other friends would likely want anything to do with him anymore. That was probably for the better as well; if they wouldn't accept that Tails cared as much about Esplouge as he did, then he didn't need them. He would certainly _try_to get Esplouge and his other friends to get along as soon as he possibly could, just as he had tried not too long ago when Esplouge was still alive, but he didn't hold much faith that his friends would react in a positive manner.

Tails finally moved for the first time in minutes, heading toward his workshop where he usually worked on new inventions. He had been keeping all of his data, all of the information he had about Esplouge in there, knowing that no one else would go there and try to destroy what he had been working so hard to accomplish. So many people would like to see Esplouge stay dead, so Tails had to make sure he kept all of Esplouge's data as safe and as secret as he possibly could.

* * *

Sonic woke up soon after Tails left to work on his experiments. The blue hero rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked to the clock, seeing that it was nearing midnight. He had almost forgotten to call Shadow, so he reached for the phone and dialed Shadow's number, hoping the dark hedgehog wasn't asleep. Shadow picked up after a few rings.

"... I was wondering if you'd forgotten to call," Shadow said. "I was about ready to go there just to make sure Tails hadn't killed you."

"Aw, how sweet," Sonic mocked. "You really _do_ care about me."

Shadow decided to ignore this.

"So, what was it you wanted?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"I... I'm not even sure," Sonic said uncomfortably, looking toward the stairs, assuming that Tails was in his room. "Tails is acting kind of weird. Well, obviously. But his mood keeps changing so fast, I don't think I can keep up with it. If it were anyone else in the world, I think I could handle it, but this is my little bro. I can't stand seeing him like this."

"What has he been doing, exactly?" Shadow asked. "Anything violent?"

"No... Not anything violent," Sonic answered. "It's... I think he's going insane. Well, again, that's pretty obvious. He tried eating soap this morning, though, that was pretty weird."

"... What the hell?" Shadow asked.

"He said Esplouge told him it was candy," Sonic said, as though that would make it any less confusing. "But there's one other thing... He's been talking about trying to bring Esplouge back to life."

Shadow was silent.

"Still there?" Sonic asked.

"How the hell does he plan to carry that out?" Shadow asked, his voice taking on a malicious tone that Sonic didn't manage to pick up on.

"I have no idea," Sonic said. "He won't tell me anything. But he's apparently been thinking pretty seriously about it. He said he won't start anything until he's absolutely sure of what he's doing, but..."

"But from how unstable he's been, you're not so sure about that one," Shadow finished. "Am I right?"

"Yeah," Sonic said. "I don't know what to do about it. I mean, it seems pretty harmless right now, but I'm worried he's going to end up doing something completely crazy."

"What do you think _I_ can do about it, though?" Shadow asked. "I can't exactly stop him."

_Unless, of course, _Shadow thought, _you let me kill him. But I'm pretty sure that isn't a possibility in your little world._

"I... I don't know," Sonic said. "I guess I'm just a little freaked out."

"Look, I'm not your mommy," Shadow said coldly. "If you're 'freaked out', I suggest you go to someone else for comfort."

"But..."

"Don't call me again unless Tails starts acting violent. Otherwise, you're just wasting my time."

Shadow hung up without allowing Sonic a chance to speak. Sonic cursed under his breath and slammed the phone down, sickly reminding himself of another phone call he had made not too long ago. He briefly wondered if Shadow had really hung up on him or if Tails had been listening in again, calming himself when he realised that after a few minutes, all was still calm.

He was just being paranoid.

Sonic got off the couch and turned off the TV, deciding that getting pissed off wouldn't help. If Shadow wasn't going to even try to help him, then Sonic would figure out what to do on his own. He certainly didn't need Shadow's help, especially if Shadow was going to be such a jerk about it.

A good night's sleep would do him some good. He certainly couldn't help Tails get through whatever was going on with him if _neither_ of them was getting any sleep.

Sonic climbed up the stairs, deciding that it would be best if he checked on Tails before going to sleep. He opened Tails' door a crack and saw that Tails wasn't in there, which confused him. Where on earth could Tails be?

_He's probably working on his stupid experiment,_ Sonic rationalized.

Sonic dashed down the stairs and into Tails' workshop, confused when he noticed the lights were off. Tails wouldn't be able to see much less work in the dark, so he likely wasn't down there, either.

"Tails?" Sonic called. "You down here?"

Sonic waited for a moment with no reply, which worried him.

"Tails, seriously, if you're down here, let me know," Sonic called. "I'll stop bothering you, I just want to make sure you're okay."

Again, there was no reply, so Sonic turned the light on and descended the stairs, looking around the room desperately, wondering where on earth his friend had gone. It wasn't like Tails to just vanish. There had to be some sort of logical explanation to where he had gone.

Sonic gave up on searching the room and headed back inside the house, figuring Tails was probably in one of the other rooms. Maybe Tails was in the kitchen, getting himself a much needed snack...

Considering how Tails had been acting as of late, Sonic hoped Tails wasn't in a place with knives in it. Never the less, Sonic checked the kitchen, feeling his worry grow when he didn't find Tails there, either.

_Where else could he be?_ Sonic wondered. _I checked everywhere..._

It occurred to Sonic that there was one place in the house he had missed, although he doubted Tails would be there. Regardless, Sonic headed to the guest room he usually occupied, and was disappointed to see that Tails wasn't there, either. Sonic cursed under his breath, trying to think of where else Tails would be.

Tails' plane had been in his workshop, so he obviously wasn't out flying. He couldn't have been too far away, but Sonic had no idea where Tails would go to at such a late hour. And Shadow clearly wouldn't care, so Sonic couldn't even get help finding him. Knuckles would be too busy guarding the Master Emerald, Rouge was probably miles away, stealing something... Sonic went through everyone he knew, and realized that none of them would be capable or willing to help him.

He was all alone with no idea where Tails was.


	12. Insanity

Sonic debated over what to do in his mind, trying to figure out what exactly had caused Tails to leave in the first place. After all, it wasn't like Tails to leave without telling him, but then again, Tails hadn't exactly been 'himself' as of late. But this was still his house, so he was bound to come back sometime, right?

Of course, what Tails could potentially do while he was gone was too horrible for Sonic to even think about. If Tails started believing he was Esplouge again...

Sonic ran out the door without a second thought, determined to find Tails no matter what. If Tails began thinking he was Esplouge again, he could put someone's life in danger. Sonic would have to blame himself in part if something terrible were to happen; after all, he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Tails. On the other hand, if Tails ran into trouble and got hurt, Sonic wouldn't be able to live with himself. Even if Tails was going insane, even if Tails completely snapped for good, he would always be Sonic's little bro. And what kind of a brother would Sonic be if he let Tails get hurt?

Sonic tried to think to himself as he ran about what kinds of places Tails would likely go to. It was late; not a lot of stores would be open, so Tails likely wasn't looking for a part he needed for an experiment or anything. If there was a particularly lovely view of the sky that night, Tails would have watched it from his own house; the view of the sky from there was excellent.

So, Sonic figured, there was only one conclusion; Tails was likely thinking he was Esplouge again, and if that were the case, he would either be out looking for people to kill, or for Chaos Emeralds. Tails already technically had one, he still had the red emerald, but if he thought he was Esplouge, he wouldn't have gone near it. Esplouge had almost seemed afraid of that specific emerald back when he was alive, so if Tails were thinking he was Esplouge, he likely wouldn't have gone near it, just as Esplouge wouldn't have. But Esplouge had always wanted to get his hands on the other emeralds, although Sonic admittedly had no idea where any of those were.

Tails had a cell phone, but Sonic had noticed it on one of the tables in Tails' house before leaving. He cursed his luck; if Tails had just brought his cell phone with him, he'd be just a phone call away, and Sonic wouldn't have to deal with all this.

Sonic stopped running, feeling absolutely frustrated. He pulled out his own cell phone and decided to chance calling Shadow, feeling as though he were running out of options. The phone rang and rang to the point where Sonic was sure Shadow wouldn't answer, until finally, he did.

"What?" Shadow asked irritably.

"Shadow, Tails is gone and I have no idea where he is, and...!"

"I'm busy right now," Shadow said, sounding almost as though he were struggling with something.

"Tails is gone and I have no idea where he is!" Sonic shouted, frustrated with how uncooperative Shadow was being. "I just want to know if you have any idea where he'd be. That's all."

Shadow was silent for a moment.

"Nope," the dark hedgehog answered. "Sorry. Heh, maybe if we're lucky, he'll be joining that little bastard in Hell soon enough..."

This took a moment to register in Sonic's mind.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sonic demanded. "If you have any idea where he is...!"

"I don't," Shadow said calmly. "And even if I did, it wouldn't matter."

"What the hell...?"

Shadow hung up before Sonic could get another word in. Sonic tried calling Shadow again, but the dark hedgehog refused to answer, leaving Sonic even more frustrated.

"What the hell was that supposed to even mean?" Sonic asked himself angrily.

_Calm down, Sonic,_ the blue hero thought to himself. _I'm not going to find Tails if I'm this pissed off. I need to focus._

Sonic took a deep breath to calm himself down and continued running through the city. He was beginning to doubt that Tails had simply run off, but either way, he figured it would be more likely to find him on the outskirts of the city rather than inside.

Now it was just a matter of locating exactly where he was, and after that, Sonic would have to just wing it.

* * *

Tails stared blankly at the world before him, his mind not able to register where he was. Someplace dark, that was certain. He tried to remember the last thing he had been doing, but his mind drew a blank on that as well.

His mind snapped to some reality, which one he wasn't certain, when he felt Esplouge lick the side of his neck. Tails shuddered, sickly wondering if he were bleeding. The only times he could ever remember Esplouge licking him were when he was bleeding.

_Hey, Tails, _Esplouge seemed to say. _Lovely night, isn't it?_

"Wha...?" Tails asked, taking notice of a horrible pain in his head. "Esp...?"

_Yes, dear. It's me. Ha ha, you're so cute when you're all vulnerable like this._

Tails felt Esplouge lick him again, which made him feel absolutely sick. He was so sick of being taunted by Esplouge, even if he did consider the psychopath a friend.

_You can't see me, can you? _Esplouge asked quietly. Tails could feel Esplouge's breath in his ear, which made him shudder. _So this is the only way I can show you how happy I am. Ha, you're shuddering, are you really that scared of me?_

Tails whimpered as he felt Esplouge bite his ear.

_I can do so much worse to you, _Esplouge taunted. _I can do so much worse to you, my sweet little Miles..._

* * *

Tails grunted as his body hit the ground. In the confusion, he almost forgot where he was and what had brought him there in the first place, although when he looked up and saw Shadow standing above him, he remembered almost instantly.

He had been in his workshop, working on his experiment to bring Esplouge back to life. He had just been finishing up when Shadow came in and grabbed him, covering his mouth so that he couldn't scream, much like Esplouge would have done had he still been alive.

And then Shadow had struck him. Tails had been struggling, so Shadow had hit him hard enough to stun him, and, from the amount of scratches Tails could feel on his body, had likely dragged him to their destination.

And now the two were out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and pretty much nothing else. Tails had been more focused on his mental conversation with Esplouge than on memorizing where Shadow had taken him, so he was left with few options save for running away and hoping he didn't loop back toward Shadow. Of course, Tails realized as he stood back up, only to be shoved down again, running wouldn't help him. Shadow was fast, probably even faster than Sonic, so there was no way Tails would be able to outrun him.

There had to be another way.

"Sh- Shadow..." Tails said timidly. "Wh- what are you...?"

"Cut the crap," Shadow said coldly. "_Esplouge_."

Tails sat up, bracing himself for another attack that thankfully didn't come. He stared at Shadow like a deer caught in the headlights, his eyes filled to the brim with fear.

Shadow almost seemed... gone. There was no other word Tails could think of to describe the cold, almost lifeless look in Shadow's eyes. It was a dangerously cold expression that Tails had only seen on Esplouge, and even then, it had been pretty rare.

"... Wh- what?" Tails asked. "B- b- but... I'm _Tails_. Y- you said so yourself, remember?"

"Oh, so you're gonna play this the hard way, are you?" Shadow asked. "There's no one for you to fool here. I can see right through you, you psychotic little bastard."

"I... I'm not the one who's... who's threatening anyone," Tails said timidly. "I... I've been trying to..."

"To bring that little fucker back to life?" Shadow asked darkly, barely seeming to note the shocked expression on Tails' face. "Yeah, you can thank Sonic for tipping me off on that one. One was enough, but _two _Esplouges would be too much. But if I kill you now, then I'll never have to deal with you again, _Esplouge_."

Shadow aimed a punch that Tails barely managed to roll away from. Tails took the time to stand up, his tiny legs shaking from fear.

"I'm _Tails!_" the fox shouted. "Esplouge is d- dead, remember? The only thing that's left of him is the Chaos Emerald."

Tails pulled out the red Chaos Emerald, shocked he hadn't dropped it. He held it close to his body, as though trying to derive some sort of security from it.

"I... I don't know how to use them..." Tails said. "B- but... He wouldn't let me get hurt, would he? Es- Esplouge wouldn't let you hurt me..."

Shadow snatched the emerald from Tails too quickly for the fox to realize what was happening. Tails was absolutely mortified, feeling as though his only defense had been taken away from him.

"Thanks for the emerald, brat," Shadow said smugly. "Now I have an even bigger advantage."

Several spear-like shafts of energy shot out of the emerald and headed straight for Tails, cutting his entire body from head to toe. Tails cried out from the pain, his mind flashing back to the horrible things Esplouge had done to him, reminding him of how he felt every time Esplouge would cut him. It was absolutely horrifying, which wasn't helped by Shadow's indifferent expression. Tails stood stiffly, afraid that he'd get dizzy and pass out if he moved too quickly. He had no idea how much blood he was losing, but it couldn't have been much.

Shadow was just toying with him.

And the thought of that made Tails absolutely sick.

"G- give it back..." Tails said, trying to force himself not to cry. The last thing he wanted was to give Shadow any sort of satisfaction. "Th- that's _my_ emerald, you bully..."

"I thought you were afraid of this one, _Esplouge_," Shadow taunted. "Or was that just an act as well?"

"I told you, I'm not Esplouge," Tails said, getting frustrated. "He died. For good. Why are you still so obsessed with him?"

Shadow slapped Tails with the back of his hand, sending Tails to the ground. Tails was momentarily too stunned to move. He stared up at Shadow, noting the anger that had crept into his otherwise blank eyes.

"_You're _the one who's obsessed with him!" Shadow shot back. "Trying to bring that abomination back to life! Becoming completely detached from reality just so you can pretend you're with him again!"

"You're the one who's detatched from reality!" Tails shot back, feeling so dizzy, it was getting harder and harder for him to see. "I... At least I'm not hurting anyone!"

"What about those murders on the night he died?" Shadow asked. "Or have you conveniently forgotten about those?"

"I wasn't the one who killed them!" Tails shouted, both angry and terrified. "_You were!_"

Shadow's fist connected with the side of Tails' face, causing the pain Tails felt in his head to become almost unbearable.

"Shut the _hell_ up you _fucking psychopath!_" Shadow screamed.

Shadow prepared another attack, only to be shoved aside by a certain blue hero. Through the dizziness and the tears that had begun to overflow, all Tails could see was the familiar blue blur, although that was enough to renew his hope. If Sonic was there, he'd keep Tails safe.

"Shadow, what the fuck are you doing?" Sonic demanded, making sure to keep himself between Shadow and Tails. "Have you gone completely _insane?_"

"He's faking it!" Shadow shouted back. "He's completely insane; we have to kill him before he kills more people!"

"He's just a little kid!" Sonic shouted, matching Shadow's volume. "He's terrified out of his mind right now! Can't you see that?"

"He's faking it!" Shadow accused again. "He thinks he's Esplouge; he's just pretending to be scared right now so you'll protect him! Only a fool like you would fall for something to _obvious!_"

"The only thing that's obvious right now," Sonic said, "is that you've completely _snapped_. Seriously, can you hear yourself right now? Do you have any idea how _crazy_ you're being? Tails is a little boy; he's trying his best to recover from what that psychopath did to him, and you're not helping at all right now!"

Tails stared at the emerald that Shadow was still holding, frustrated with himself for being too weak to simply stand back up and snatch it from him.

That emerald had been Esplouge life source. It had given Esplouge his life, and although it hadn't completely governed his personality, Tails couldn't help but feel attached to the gem. After all, even though Esplouge had been a complete psychopath most of the time, he had also had plenty of moments of being fairly nice as well. Without that emerald, none of that would have been possible, and though Tails had feared Esplouge, he still cared about him all the same.

Esplouge was his friend. Not the best one ever, but he was still a friend.

And now Shadow was holding the thing that had given his friend life out of reach.

"He's too far gone!" Shadow shouted, continuing his argument with Sonic. "Are you honestly saying you'll allow more innocent people to die because of him? Are you seriously that selfish and stupid?"

"You're the one who's selfish," Sonic said coldly. "What, you weren't able to kill Esplouge yourself, so you're just going on to the next best thing? I wanted to see that bastard die just as much as you did, but I'm just grateful he's not able to hurt Tails anymore. I'm not going completely insane like you are!"

"Tails is gone!" Shadow shouted, firing a sudden attack at Sonic. The blue hero tried to dodge, but the lower half of his body ended up being cut up by Shadow's Chaos Spear. Sonic cursed softly, trying to ignore the pain in his legs in favour of getting Tails away from this madman.

Sonic realized that Shadow was preparing another attack toward Tails, so he tackled the dark hedgehog again, this time pinning him to the ground. The Chaos Emerald flew out of Shadow's grasp, although Sonic was sure it was still physically close enough to him for him to be able to use his Chaos Spear.

"Leave him alone," Sonic hissed. "Leave us both the hell alone. If you go anywhere _near_ him, I swear to god you'll regret it."

"You're making a huge fucking mistake," Shadow hissed back, matching Sonic's tone. "He'll kill you. He's going to keep killing people, no matter what you do."

"You're one to talk," Sonic nearly whispered. "You tried to destroy the entire planet, if memory serves. Hypocrite."

Sonic got off of Shadow and went to Tails' side, trying to make sure that his friend was okay. Tails reached out toward Sonic and he pulled the hedgehog into a weak hug. Suddenly, the emerald didn't matter anymore. It wasn't as though Esplouge's true personality had been created as a result of it; to Tails' knowledge, only the violent parts of his personality had been a result of the emerald. Any other emerald would work for bringing Esplouge back to life, so even if Sonic were to carry him back home so they could both get some rest, it wouldn't really matter if they left the emerald behind.

After all, there were six more that would work equally well.

And, Tails realized as Sonic carefully lifted him, it was more important that he focus on getting home so he could heal. As long as Sonic was there to protect him, he knew that everything would be okay.


	13. Remembering

_Tails, dear? How long do you plan on staying asleep?_

Tails' eyes opened slowly, tiredly. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, knowing that as soon as he looked toward the voice which had spoken, he'd see Esplouge.

But something was wrong. The ceiling wasn't there. In fact, nothing was there, Tails realized as awareness slowly came to him. All that was above him was a large, dark void. Tails couldn't help but to keep staring, as though wishing a ceiling there would make one suddenly appear.

He was still in his room, right?

_Tails? There's nothing interesting about the ceiling, now, is there? It's so boring up there._

"B- but..." Tails said as he sat up, unable to see Esplouge at first as his dark fur almost blended in to the void they were in. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he spoke up again. "... Where are we, Esplouge?"

Esplouge smirked.

_Where do you want us to be?_ the dark fox asked. _I can take you wherever you want to go._

Tails skipped over questioning the logic of this. He just wanted to get back to somewhere normal, some place that he could understand.

"I... I wanna go home, I guess," Tails answered. "But, um..."

Tails stopped speaking as the void they were in slowly dissolved away, being slowly replaced by familiar objects that morphed into Tails' bedroom. Tails stared at the void in awe, amazed by the slow transformation, wondering how on earth any of it was possible.

_Oh,_ Tails realized, _I must be dreaming. This has to be a dream, right?_

_Oh, I can assure you, this is no dream, _Esplouge said, as though he had read Tails' thoughts. _It's much, much more than that..._

"What do you mean?" Tails asked out loud.

Esplouge pinned Tails down to his bed, his claws nearly digging in to Tails' wrists. Esplouge's hands felt sickly cold and, Tails noticed, Esplouge's eyes were so dull, they appeared lifeless.

Which should have made sense, as Esplouge was really dead and this was all just a dream. Right?

It was just a bad dream...

_I'm gonna do such horrible things to you, Tails, _Esplouge taunted, smiling hollowly. _Such horrible, horrible things..._

Tails tried to struggle, stopping when he felt a sudden pain shoot through his entire body.

_Why does it hurt? _Tails wondered fearfully, wondering what on earth Esplouge must have done to him.

_I'm going to cut you, _Esplouge continued, _so fucking much. Just like old times..._

"Let go of me!" Tails demanded, trying to make himself sound braver than he felt.

Esplouge licked the side of Tails' neck slowly, causing Tails to shiver and try to pull away. It made Tails feel nauseous, and if Esplouge hadn't been holding his wrists down, Tails would have shoved him away. He was getting so sick and tired of being pushed around.

_Just the thought of causing you so much pain, _Esplouge whispered into Tails' ear, _excites me. So. Fucking. Much._

Esplouge stared down at Tails, his eyes almost appearing empty. There was no emotion, not even his usual sadistic joy was present. It was enough to send even more shivers down Tails' spine.

"P- please don't hurt me," Tails begged softly. "Ar- aren't we friends? F- friends don't hurt friends..."

_I treat my friends different, _Esplouge said tauntingly, using a falsely childish tone. _I cut and scare and torture them, and sometimes I even kill them..._

Esplouge ran one of his clawed fingers gently down Tails' throat.

_... And even then, _Esplouge continued, _sometimes that isn't enough for me. You don't even want to know what I do to my 'friends' beyond that._Esplouge tried to stifle a giggle._ Although I guess you're going to find out anyway..._

The next few moments seemed to blur together. Tails was aware of a pain in his ear caused by Esplouge's teeth and another pain in his stomach caused by glass being shoved through it, both of which caused him to let out a cry of both pain and fear.

At the very least, it had been enough to finally wake him up.

* * *

Tails sat up in his bed, his heart racing. He could feel himself shaking, and it was all he could do not to throw up.

Why on earth had he had such a screwed up nightmare? Why wouldn't Esplouge leave him alone? He understood that Esplouge was dead, he was even getting closer to accepting that fact, so why was he still having such awful nightmares?

Moments after Tails woke up, Sonic was at his door to make sure he was okay.

"What's wrong, Tails?" Sonic asked. "I heard you scream."

Tails stared at Sonic for a moment, his eyes wide. At first, Sonic assumed it was because Tails was still scared from his nightmare, although when Tails finally spoke up, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Wh- what happened to your legs?" Tails asked frantically. "Why are they all bandaged up? D- did I do that to you...?"

"No, no... Tails, calm down," Sonic said. "It's okay. You didn't do anything, it's okay."

"Th- then why are your legs...?"

Tails' mind briefly flashed back to the previous night, to Shadow kidnapping and attacking him...

And then Sonic had come and protected him, just like old times.

"Sh- Shadow did that to you," Tails said, more to confirm it to himself than anything else. "He... He was going to hurt me, and then he hurt you, too..."

Sonic was at Tails' side in an instant, and he pulled Tails into a protective hug.

"Tails, it's okay," Sonic said calmly. "I'm okay. You're okay. Shadow knows that if he shows his sorry face again, he won't live to regret it."

"But I..."

Tails pushed Sonic away with shocking force. He stared at the hedgehog, appearing terrified.

"... I don't want you to kill him..." Tails said quietly, shocking the hedgehog. "I don't w- want anyone else to get hurt..."

"But he was going to _kill _you," Sonic tried to reason. "He's gone completely insane with trying to get some sort of revenge on Esplouge. Every time something bad happens to you... I can't stand it. I feel like I'm going crazy every time I think about what Esplouge did to you, or what would have happened to you last night if I hadn't have gotten there when I did."

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt," Tails repeated. "I don't care that he tried to... to kill me, but... I don't want anyone else to get hurt, Sonic. E- Esplouge tried to kill Shadow before, so I can kind of understand why he'd take his anger out on me. Please don't be mad at him, Sonic."

"But Shadow tried to _kill_ you!" Sonic objected. "Don't you understand that? If something were to happen to you...!"

"How do you think I feel now that Esplouge is dead?" Tails asked, his meek voice taking on an angry tone. "I was the only person he ever trusted, he even told me that being around me made him feel normal sometimes, how the hell do you think I feel _each and every day?_"

Sonic stared at Tails in shock for a moment. It was surprising for Tails to suddenly get angry, although, Sonic realized, it was probably more surprising he hadn't gotten used to Tails' new mood swings yet.

"But... This is different," Sonic countered.

"How?" Tails demanded. "How the hell is it different?"

"Well, for one thing, I don't torture you," Sonic explained. "You and I are like brothers, we always have been. We care about and trust each other, but we also treat each other with respect and we're not criminally insane."

_Well, I'm not,_ Sonic thought. _You've... had your moments..._

"If something were to happen to you," Sonic continued, "I honestly don't know if I could live with myself for not being able to protect you."

Tails stared at Sonic, apparently shocked. For a moment, he couldn't even speak.

"Es... Esplouge wanted me to be happy," Tails said. "He... He said that right be- before he died... I want the same for you if I die, okay? I want you to live a long, happy life."

Tails began to cry. He was vaguely aware of Sonic pulling him into a gentle hug as memories swirled around in his head. For some reason, he could suddenly remember Esplouge's death so clearly, as though it had just happened, and that made all of the pain he had felt back then come crashing back into his psyche.

He could still hear Esplouge's words in his head.

_You know I love you, right?_

_I want you to be happy, okay? Promise me you'll be happy from now on._

_I want you to be happy..._

* * *

After the events from the night before, Shadow had decided to remain in the forest where he had taken Tails with the intent of killing him.

He was absolutely furious. If only he had been faster, if only he had taken Tails deeper into the forest, he could have finished before Sonic had come to interrupt him. Shadow honestly didn't care if Sonic hated him; he just wanted to make sure Esplouge would remain dead.

And if that meaned murdering a little boy, then so be it. Anything to keep that psychopath away.

"Shadow," Metal Sonic said, interrupting the brooding hedgehog's thoughts. "Thinking about it is only going to make you even more angry."

"Shut up," Shadow said irritably. "Do you have any idea how long it'll be before I have the chance to try that again? Sonic's going to be guarding that little psychopath like a high security prison now, and what do you think Tails is going to be doing during that time?"

"You must realize," Metal Sonic said, "that it took my master a very long time before he was ready to begin creating Esplouge. Tails will have to create an artificial body for him, and after that, will have to..."

"I don't need to know the fucking process!" Shadow shouted, getting as close to startling the robot as he possibly could.

Metal Sonic had gotten used to these outbursts. Shadow had been so on edge recently, and finding out that Tails was planning on bringing Esplouge back to life certainly hadn't helped.

_Gee, thanks for letting him know about that, Sonic,_ the robot thought bitterly. _Thank you so much for making my existence even more frustrating. You blue bastard..._

"You have no idea how _close_ I was," Shadow continued. "I had him, he was all alone, and then Sonic had to come and fucking ruin _everything!_ And where the hell were _you_ while all of this was going on, anyway? I would think _you _of all people would want to make sure Esplouge stays dead, especially after what he did to your master."

"I have no interest in murdering an innocent little boy," Metal Sonic said, ignoring Shadow's attempt to rile him up. "I would be perfectly willing to destroy Esplouge if Tails somehow manages to recreate him, but I refuse to murder Tails for no reason."

"But what if Tails essentally... becomes him?" Shadow asked with a smirk. "If it gets to the point where it's impossible to tell the two apart, what on earth are you going to do about it?"

Metal Sonic was silent, growing tired of the conversation. He could see the triumph in Shadow's otherwise insane eyes, and that was enough to get him to speak again.

"_Tails_ did not murder my master," Metal Sonic explained. "_Tails_ did not murder the rabbit, _Tails_ did not murder Amy... Tails has not done anything to warrant my killing him. You may do as you please, but I want no part of it."

"Tails _has_ murdered people, though," Shadow explained with a smirk. "Convenient how you weren't there for that."

Another thing Metal Sonic had gotten used to.

"As I have stated _numerous times_, I am not working together with Tails," Metal Sonic said, following a generic script he had memorized after being accused of the same thing over and over. "I do not care about him. His life is of no interest to me. I have no intention of helping you carry out your plan to kill him, nor do I have any interest in stopping your plan to kill him. My stance is neutral."

"If you're not on my side," Shadow said quietly, "then you're working with _him_."

"Your logic is flawed," Metal Sonic explained. "I have already stated that I will not interfere with your plans to murder the boy."

"Yeah, but can I actually trust you?" Shadow asked. "After all, you do have a habit of going off for extended periods without telling me where you're going."

Shadow aimed a punch at the robot, which Metal Sonic easily dodged.

"How do I know you're not working with Sonic and Tails?" Shadow asked. "How do I know you didn't tell Sonic where to find me last night?"

"What would I stand to gain if I did something like that?" Metal Sonic countered. "If I wish to remain with you, would it really be wise for me to make you so angry?"

Shadow aimed another punch at the robot, which was again dodged. Shadow cursed as his fist hit a tree.

"Then how did Sonic find me?" Shadow asked. "How the hell did he know where I was?"

Metal Sonic grabbed Shadow from behind, holding the dark hedgehog roughly, growing tired of the argument.

"Sonic is not as stupid as you would like to believe," Metal Sonic explained. "If Tails had been working on an experiment, it would make sense for Sonic to check up on him. If Tails was not there when Sonic went to check on him, Sonic would go looking for him. I understand Sonic much better than you; I understand how much he cares about Tails. If there was even a reason for him to think that something had happened to his friend, Sonic would try to find out what happened and put a stop to it."

Shadow struggled against the robot, but Metal Sonic refused to let go.

"He saw that Tails was not in his workshop as he should have been," Metal Sonic continued. "How do you think he would have responded?"

"But... How did he know that I brought Tails here?" Shadow asked. "How would he have found that out all by himself...?"

"Sonic is not as slow or as stupid as you would like to believe," Metal Sonic explained. "He merely had to run around and look until he ran out of places to look at. It was night; not many places in this city are exactly active at night. Of those places, there are not many Tails would go to. If Tails was not in the city, where do you think Sonic would have logically looked?"

Shadow finally stopped struggling, so Metal Sonic let him go. Shadow turned and faced the robot, appearing annoyed.

"That still doesn't explain where you keep running off to," Shadow said quietly. "So you're not going to make me any less suspicious of you."

Metal Sonic almost found it painful how much Shadow had fallen. He was sure that any day now, Shadow would go completely and irreparably insane. And all the while, Metal Sonic realized, Shadow would continue to rationalize his insane thoughts in his fallen mind.

If anything, _Shadow _was the one who was becoming more and more like the one he hated.

Metal Sonic turned away, wanting nothing more than to distance himself from Shadow and his descent into madness. As soon as he did, however, Shadow spoke up.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Shadow asked, his voice filled with distrust.

"I am going off for an extended period of time without telling you where I am going," Metal Sonic said, knowing that if it had been possible, he would have smirked with the knowledge of how pissed off that would make Shadow. "Because I am not your child and you can not control me."

Before Shadow could object, Metal Sonic was off, running aimlessly, wanting only to distance himself from Shadow to have a few moments of peace.

* * *

A/N: I usually put my author's notes at the beginning of the chapter, but I decided to mix things up a bit. I have been trying to dedicate a little more time to working on my fanfics (not just this one, although this one certainly is a priority), which means that updates are _likely_ going to pop up a little more often. As such, I'm also likely to update my profile page more than just once in a blue moon, so be sure to check that out as well!


	14. Normalcy?

Tails had spent the day in an almost vegetable state, barely seeming to register the world around him. It was painful for Sonic to look at, to see his best friend so... lifeless.

_Oh well,_ Sonic thought, _I guess it's better than the alternative..._

In a way, it was fairly peaceful for once, although Sonic felt guilt for the mere thought. Tails was his best friend, why on earth was he feeling happy that his friend was so emotionally drained?

Sonic went to check on Tails for what felt like the billionth time, worried that Shadow would just use Chaos Control to kidnap Tails with ease. Tails was thankfully still where he had been the entire day; sitting on his bed where he had remained since morning, his gaze leaving the ground the only sign that he was even still aware. Tails stared at Sonic for a moment, his expression almost unreadable. Was he sad, or simply not all there?

Either way, it was getting late, and Sonic went straight to the point.

"I'm going to bed," Sonic said. "It's pretty late. You should probably go to bed soon, too, okay?"

When Tails said nothing, Sonic walked over to him and patted him gently on the head, ruffling the fox's bangs playfully. When Tails didn't respond to even that, Sonic spoke up again.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Sonic said. "I'm still kinda debating whether I should stay in my usual room, or just crash on the couch. Which do you think I should go with?"

Sonic waited a moment, hoping for Tails to respond. The fox was silent, of course, and after what felt like forever, Sonic finally gave up, ruffled Tails' bangs again, and turned to leave, stopping when Tails reached out and gently grabbed his arm. Sonic nearly jumped out of his skin, surprised that Tails had finally moved for the first time since the early morning.

"Please don't leave me," Tails said softly, his voice even quieter than usual from lack of use and water. "You can sleep on the couch in here if you want... Just please don't leave..."

Sonic smiled, happy that Tails had finally spoken again.

"Okay, then," Sonic agreed. "I'll sleep in here tonight."

Sonic was suddenly reminded of when Esplouge had been there little over a month ago, specifically of when Esplouge had been afraid to sleep without Tails nearby. It nearly sent a shiver up his spine thinking of the possibility of Tails believing he was Esplouge again.

_Is he remembering that?_ Sonic wondered. _Is he "remembering" being Esplouge?_

_No... He can't be._

"This might sound kinda weird," Sonic began, deciding that testing out his worries would be more productive than fretting about them, "but can you tell me what your name is?"

"Tails," the fox said, sounding confused. "Why?"

Sonic offered a reassuring smile, ruffling the fox's hair playfully yet again.

_I knew it was all just in my head._

"No reason."

* * *

Both Sonic and Tails thankfully slept through the night without interruption. Tails woke up the the feeling of the sun on his face and saw that Sonic had opened the window at some point. He sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily before looking around to see that Sonic wasn't in the room with him anymore.

Tails looked to his clock and saw that it was a little passed ten in the morning, surprising him that Sonic had woken up so early in the morning.

Tails finally got out of bed and headed for his bathroom, figuring that splashing cold water on his face would wake him up faster than just sitting and staring off into space. He froze at the sight of his own reflection, his eyes trained on the many cuts that covered his entire body. For a moment, it felt as though even his thoughts were frozen in their tracks before he finally snapped out of it, splashed the water on his face, and dried off.

"Tails?" Sonic called, probably from somewhere downstairs. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Tails called back. He dashed down the stairs and found Sonic in the kitchen, smiling when he found the blue hedgehog. "It's weird to see you up so early, Sonic."

Sonic appeared confused, which in turn confused Tails.

"Um... Are you feeling alright, Tails?" Sonic asked unsurely.

"Of course I am," Tails said, smiling although confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Sonic seemed unsure how to answer, so Tails went into the kitchen and began rifling through the cabinets.

"I'm hungry," Tails said absently.

"I could make something for you if you want," Sonic said, still seeming confused.

_Why is he acting like everything's okay?_ Sonic wondered. _There's no way he's really feeling as happy as he's acting..._

"Nah," Tails answered. "I just want some oatmeal. All you gotta do is boil the water for it."

It was so unusual for Tails to be acting like everything was fine all of a sudden. Just the day before, the fox had been practically a statue, and the night before that, he had been attacked. It wasn't normal for him to all of a sudden be perfectly okay.

And then another thought occurred to Sonic. Tails had done pretty much the same thing when they had first met, right after his parents had died. He had been so fragile, which was normal considering what had happened, but then all of a sudden, he had been perfectly fine. Then, just like now, Tails had been acting so happy and normal, it almost scared Sonic. It was so utterly _fake_, it was scary.

Tails' happiness then, just as it was now, was just an act. Somewhere inside, the fox was still hurting, but he was trying to mask it. And that, Sonic felt, was probably worse than anything else. How could he help if he had no idea how Tails was really feeling?

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, silly," Tails said, placing a pot full of water on the stove to get the water boiling. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Sonic was silent. It was nice to see Tails so happy, even though both of them knew it was just an act. Even so, Sonic wanted to see Tails happy rather than sad or angry. He was almost desperate to see Tails happy again.

And of course, anything was preferable to Tails thinking he was Esplouge again.

After a silence that seemed to stretch on forever, Tails finally spoke up again, bringing Sonic's attention back to reality.

"I think I'm going to stop working on my experiment for a while," Tails said.

"What?" Sonic asked, sounding hopeful. "Why?"

Tails shrugged.

"I haven't worked on my plane in forever," Tails explained. "There're probably a million things I need to fix on it. Plus, I want to spend more time with you. We haven't been spending enough time together lately, even though you've been staying here."

"O- okay..." Sonic said, not sure what else he could say. "That sounds good."

"We should go to the beach again or something," Tails continued, pouring the boiling water into the bowl of oatmeal as he spoke. "Or maybe to the park, if the weather's nice. It's been a while since we've been on a picnic."

Sonic couldn't help but shudder at how cold Tails' voice seemed to sound. Tails had somehow managed to sound both happy and hopeless at once, unless it was all in Sonic's head. Tails turned around, smile plastered on his face, and headed for the table so he could enjoy his breakfast. Sonic stood rooted to his spot, watching Tails carefully as though afraid of being attacked.

With the way things had been going on recently, it wouldn't exactly be shocking if that were to happen.

"Yeah..." Sonic agreed weakly. "That, uh, sounds like it would be a lot of fun, Tails."

"Do you think Knuckles would want to hang out with us?" Tails asked.

"Knuckles?" Sonic asked. "I dunno. Why?"

Tails shrugged.

"He's our friend, isn't he?" Tails asked. "But we never really hang out with him."

"Yeah, well... Knuckles is kind of a loner," Sonic explained. "Although I don't think it'd hurt to ask him if he wants to hang out."

"That'd be nice," Tails said, his voice beginning to sound cheerful again. "I miss hanging out with everyone."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "I do, too."

Sonic left the kitchen, which Tails barely seemed to notice. Tails enjoyed the rest of his meal in silence.

* * *

The next two months went by without incident. Tails had seemed to be returning to his normal, happy self, and Sonic felt relieved that everything was finally going back to normal.

And then he made a discovery that broke the charade.

* * *

A/N: What could Sonic have possibly discovered?

On the plus side, the next chapter is at least started, so it hopefully won't take quite as long for me to update. I'm going to try to be better about posting updates in my profile more often, so hopefully it'll become easier for me to at least let you guys know how I'm doing as far as my fan fiction writing goes. Thank you all for being so patient with me!


	15. A Chance Discovery

Sonic stared at what had fallen before him in complete and utter shock. He had to cover his mouth to keep from screaming, not wanting to draw Tails to him right away.

The last thing he needed was for Tails to know what he had just seen.

_What the fuck is going on?_ Sonic wondered frantically, screaming somehow louder in his own mind than he ever could out loud. And even then, it didn't measure up to how completely and utterly _shocked_ he was.

For the last two months, at _least _sixty days, Tails had seemed like he was getting better, had seemed like he was finally getting back to normal again. He and Sonic had hung out as they used to, Tails had given up on his insane plan to bring Esplouge back to life and gone back to working on his plane, and Tails had finally begun to seem happier. It seemed as though Tails' life was no longer consumed by memories of Esplouge, as though he had finally come to terms with what had happened and had finally begun to move on after so long.

But this discovery changed all that in Sonic's mind.

There was still something dangerously wrong in Tails' mind.

There was just no other explanation for how messed up this was.

Sonic backed away a few steps, averting his gaze to the floor at his feet, trying to put the image out of his mind for at least a moment.

He needed at least a moment to get his thoughts together. This discovery had taken him completely by surprise, and now he wasn't sure how to respond. His mind seemed to freeze, and he was unable to bring himself to look back at the thing that had fallen in front of him, but at the same time, unable to remember what _exactly_ had happened.

For a moment, he couldn't even remember the few minutes before it had happened.

"Sonic?" Tails' voice called from somewhere else in the house, jarring Sonic from his thoughts, making his heart pound in his chest out of fear the fox would come in and know what he had seen. "What's taking you?"

"I... I'll be there in a minute!" Sonic called back, his voice cracking as he spoke. He could feel himself shaking, although he tried to hide it. Getting so scared wouldn't help him at all. He needed to swallow his fear if he was going to handle this like the hero he was.

Even without Eggman to threaten the world, Sonic still viewed himself as a hero. And he had to handle this situation as such.

The blue hero finally forced his gaze back to what had frightened him so much, nearly having the same reaction as he had had before. He had to cover his mouth again, but this time, he forced his emerald green eyes to stay focused on what had fallen before him.

Esplouge's body.

Sonic had merely opened the closet that was in the guest room to get a blanket, and Esplouge's body had tumbled out and fallen at his feet like a life-sized rag doll.

_What the fuck is going on?_ Sonic wondered again, feeling his panic grow.

Why on earth was Esplouge's body there? Sonic had just assumed that Tails had buried the body or something; something normal, at least. So why on earth was Esplouge's body _here_? Why had Tails hidden Esplouge's body _here_ of all places?

Was Tails still insane? That was the only answer that worked in Sonic's mind. There was still something dangerously wrong with Tails, and Sonic was deeply worried that making the wrong move would result in Tails attacking him again.

But what could he do? The thought of letting Tails find out he had discovered Esplouge's body wasn't exactly appealing, but neither was stuffing the body back into the closet and trying to forget about it. And what on earth would he do next? This wasn't exactly something he and Tails could merely sit down and talk about, what with it being a clear sign of Tails' continuing psychosis.

On the same note, this discovery wasn't something Sonic felt he could keep to himself. If there was something going wrong with Tails - and this was a clear sign of just that - someone else needed to know. Someone who could help him, or, at the very least, someone who could help Sonic better deal with this.

But after all the crap that had been going on, who on earth would want to help him? Pretty much everyone he had been friends with once upon a time had given up on both him and Tails, figuring that Tails was insane and Sonic was not far behind. Shadow had probably been their last chance, but Shadow was arguably further gone than Tails was, although this particular discovery made Sonic second guess that.

Still, Shadow would probably be one of the _worst_people Sonic could go to with this, and who else was there? If Amy had still been alive, Sonic would have felt comfortable going to her, and if Eggman had still been alive, Sonic could have at the very least demanded he do something about this. After all, in a sort of indirect way, all of this _was _Eggman's fault. He was the one who had created Esplouge in the first place.

_That damn bastard..._ Sonic thought bitterly.

Sonic gave up on thinking for the time being, and carefully placed Esplouge's body back into the closet it had fallen out of, finding himself surprised at the lack of decay that had set in on the fox. But that made sense, didn't it? After all, Esplouge had been an experiment, and if his body had been artificially created, there was no reason for it to go through any sort of natural decay.

In a way, that was even more disturbing to Sonic than if Esplouge's body had been completely filled with rot. This way, it would always look like Esplouge was just sleeping, just waiting to wake up at any moment to bring pain and fear into their lives again.

Like he could get up at any moment and kidnap Tails again.

Sonic finally left the room, thoroughly shaken, and found a confused Tails waiting for him in the hallway.

"Sonic, weren't you going to get a blanket?" Tails asked.

Sonic found Tails' expression disturbing. The fox simply looked confused, just a mere innocent confusion, but with what he had just discovered...

Sonic had to wonder how much of what Tails did and said was just an act. Was it all just an act, was Tails just _pretending_ to be sane while on the inside, he had completely snapped?

"Um... I couldn't find one," Sonic lied, figuring he'd have to give an answer at one point or another. "I... I think I'm gonna go for a run. I'll be back later, okay?"

Tails' confused expression didn't waver.

"Okay, then," Tails said. "Are you okay, Sonic? You look kinda pale..."

"I... I'm fine," Sonic lied, trying to force a genuine-looking smile onto his face and hoping it worked. "I just feel like I need to exercise a bit. That's all."

Sonic turned to run off, stopping for a moment when Tails spoke up again.

"Have fun, Sonic!" Tails said cheerfully.

Sonic looked back to Tails and saw that the confused expression had been replaced with a happy one. He forced another smile, which he was finding increasingly hard to do.

"Yeah. Thanks," Sonic said awkwardly, running off before Tails could say another word.

Running around a bit would help to clear his mind. After all, that was what Sonic was best at; running around and saving the day. Of course, with Eggman gone, the day rarely needed saving anymore, but at the very least, Sonic could still run around.

Run around, and try to forget what he had seen.

* * *

Tails waited for a few moments after Sonic left before making a move. He walked toward the kitchen to make himself some hot chocolate, glancing into the room Sonic had come out of briefly as he passed by.

For a split second, something dark seemed to flicker in his eyes, as though he understood that something had happened. However, his expression quickly turned back to one of mild confusion and childish happiness as he headed for the kitchen.

"I wonder why Sonic seemed so spooked?" Tails wondered aloud. "He's acting kinda weird..."

* * *

Sonic ran around the city, dodging people on the streets as he tried to calm his thoughts.

What the hell was going on? What on earth would posses Tails to do something so insane?

_No,_ Sonic told himself. _I need to calm myself down. I'll be completely useless if I can't think clearly._

But how on earth could he think clearly with what he had discovered? He felt so confused, and he knew he had to tell someone, but who on earth would listen?

Sonic crashed into someone after briefly not paying attention to where he was going.

"Crap, I'm sorry, man..."

Sonic stared at the robot he had run into, wondering why on earth it was in the city in the first place.

"Metal?" Sonic asked, pulling himself off the ground.

"Hello, Sonic," the robot greeted. "You appear troubled. Has something happened?"

"Why should I trust you?" Sonic asked, immediately suspicious of the robot's motives. "You and Shadow..."

"Shadow is insane," Metal Sonic interrupted. "By your reaction to my question, I am assuming whatever is troubling you has to do with Tails. What is it?"

Sonic still appeared distrusting.

"You swear you're not going to tell Shadow?" Sonic asked, feeling hopeful. He needed someone to talk to, and Metal Sonic was clearly willing to fill that role for him. Maybe the robot could offer a fresh, logical perspective on things.

"Shadow is losing his mind," Metal Sonic said. "If I told him I went to the grocery store to get him some food, he would probably think I was plotting to poison him. I doubt I can tell him anything without receiving a violent reaction."

Sonic paused a moment, trying to gauge his robot counterpart's trustworthiness in his mind. His need for someone to talk to helped him in that decision. After all, Metal Sonic was usually pretty straight with him, especially now that Eggman wasn't ordering the robot to kill him.

"Okay, then... Tails has gone completely fucking insane. I mean, I thought he was getting better, I really did, he hasn't been acting weird in _months_, but then...!"

Metal Sonic placed his cold, metallic hands on Sonic's shoulders, signaling for him to stop.

"Calm down," Metal Sonic said. "I can not understand you if you talk that fast. Now, can you tell me what is going on? Calmly?"

Sonic paused again, trying to calm himself.

"... He has Esplouge's body," Sonic said finally, barely able to choke out the words as they were still unbelievable to him.

The robot's hands left his shoulders.

"... What?" Metal Sonic asked flatly.

"Tails still has Esplouge's body," Sonic repeated, trying to force himself not to think about finding Esplouge's body and just how _alive_ it seemed.

_Like it could come back to life to kidnap Tails at any moment..._

"... Where does he have it?" Metal Sonic asked.

"In... In the closet... God, I've _slept_ in that room!" Sonic said, his voice raising. "I've been sleeping in that room for over two _months_, and then today, Tails asked for an extra blanket, you know, because it's getting colder, and I knew that he kept blankets in that closet...!"

"What are you planning to do?" Metal Sonic asked.

"I... I'm not sure," Sonic admitted. "I'm just out here to get it out of my mind. I know I need to do _something_..."

"It would be unwise of you to let him know about it," Metal Sonic said. "If Tails is really as unstable as you think, he might attack you."

"You seem to know quite a bit about what to do," Sonic noted suspiciously. He still wasn't sure if his robot counterpart was on his side or Shadow's, and the last thing he needed was for Shadow to find out about this.

"... Shadow has given me quite the insight to the mind of the mentally unstable," Metal Sonic said. "I have learned a lot, although I have to say I have begun to fear him lately."

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"... He is a _weapon_, Sonic," the robot explained. "And he is _violent_. He has attacked me numerous times over trivial things since the last time you and I saw each other. Sometimes he will attack me for no logical reason at all."

"That's rough," Sonic said. "Do you want to stay with me and Tails? I mean, I have no idea if Tails will be all that happy to see you, but I can't imagine he'd be worse than Shadow."

"Shadow would probably enjoy my absence," Metal Sonic mused. "Although to be honest, I am a little worried about staying with Tails..."

"He's fine for the most part," Sonic said, desperation in his voice, praying that the robot would come with him and make things all better. Some super robot power of sanity induction or something of the sort. Eggman had to have programmed him with _something_ useful. "I don't think he'd react well to us knowing about his dirty little secret, but as long as we don't mention that, I think he'll be fine."

"Are you okay, Sonic?" Metal Sonic asked.

"Y- yeah," Sonic answered, feeling unsure of himself as he spoke. "Why do you ask?"

_I hate seeing you like this_, Metal Sonic thought. _You look so helpless. This isn't like you._

"... No reason," Metal Sonic said. "As for whether or not I will go with you, I feel that I should. I can tell that you are worried about Tails, and I would like to help in any way I can."

_Anything to make this madness stop_, Metal Sonic thought.

Sonic let out a relieved sigh.

"You have no idea how much better that makes me feel," Sonic said. "So, will you have to tell Shadow...?"

"No," Metal Sonic interrupted. "Shadow is so paranoid, I think it would be wise if I just never went near him again."

"Cool by me," Sonic said bitterly, remembering the night Shadow had kidnapped and tried to kill Tails. "So, shall we be off?"

* * *

Sonic and Metal Sonic returned to Tails' house not long after their conversation. Sonic opened the door unsurely, wondering if Tails would be angry at him for inviting Metal Sonic to stay with them. After all, it _was_ Tails' house, and Sonic hadn't taken the time to consult him.

_Although,_ Sonic thought, _I'm not sure if he's really sane enough to make decisions like that anymore._

Tails came out of the kitchen to greet Sonic, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Metal Sonic. His happy expression turned to one of annoyance as he stared straight at the robot, appearing as though he were trying to decide what to do next.

"Sonic?" Tails asked. "What the hell is _that_ doing here?"

Sonic was caught off guard, not used to Tails cussing after the two months of relative peace. However, Metal Sonic, who was used to worse, answered for him.

"Sonic invited me to stay with the two of you for a while."

"And why the hell would he do that?" Tails asked bitterly, glaring at the robot. "After all, you have Shadow."

"Shadow and I have not been seeing eye to eye as of late," Metal Sonic explained, trying to be as friendly as possible. He knew the last thing he needed was to push the wrong buttons.

"Well, that's too bad," Tails said. "That still doesn't explain why you have to stay at _my_ house."

"Look, Tails, he has nowhere else to go," Sonic explained, finally getting over his initial shock. Tails seemed surprised, as though he had forgotten that Sonic was even there. "Besides, he's technology, I thought you'd jump at the chance to talk to him for a bit and find out how he was built and stuff."

"... I guess that's true..." Tails said, eyeing Metal Sonic suspiciously, still distrusting. "I guess I _have_ been wondering how you work for a while."

"See? You two will get along great!" Sonic said, not really feeling the enthusiasm he had tried to force out. If anything, Sonic just hoped the two wouldn't try to kill each other.

That certainly wasn't a pretty mental image.

* * *

A/N: So, Tails has kept Esplouge's body this whole time... I tried dropping some subtle hints for it in earlier chapters; were they too obvious? I'd really appreciate the feedback, as well as any constructive criticism. I want to make sure this story is the best that I can make it.


	16. Help Us

Sonic tried to observe how Tails and Metal Sonic were getting along throughout the day, hoping the two wouldn't get into a fight. If Tails was still unstable - which was pretty obvious the moment Sonic discovered Esplouge's body in the closet - he was probably still dangerous. Metal Sonic knew about the discovery, and Sonic couldn't help but worry that the robot would try to do some sleuthing on his own; and if Tails found out about that...

Tails knew how to create robots and machines, so it was likely he knew how to destroy them as well. Metal Sonic had been through quite a lot, probably more than Sonic or anyone else even knew, but putting him up against a mechanical genius would likely still be dangerous.

However, as Sonic observed, the two seemed to get along okay after Tails' initial reaction to the robot. They weren't the newest set of best friends forever, but they weren't at each other's throats, which in Sonic's mind was a good start.

When the darkness of the night started to set, Tails announced that he was going to work on his plane in his workshop and wished not to be disturbed for any reason. Sonic and Metal Sonic took that time to discuss the situation further, figuring it was better to do so while Tails was out of earshot.

"See?" Sonic asked. "Didn't I tell you he was acting normal?"

"I do have to admit his words and actions thus far have been _mostly_ normal..." Metal Sonic said. "However, it is still quite clear to me that something is wrong with him."

"Oh, you mean how he reacted when I brought you here, right?" Sonic asked. "Yeah, that was really weird. He hasn't acted like that in _months_..."

"Well, that was one thing, but it was not the only thing that lead me to that conclusion," Metal Sonic said. "It is a little difficult to explain, but even while disregarding the incident in question, something still feels different about him."

"Really?" Sonic asked. "What?"

"I... I am not sure," Metal Sonic admitted. "Something definitely feels different about him, however."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you know that there has to be something wrong with him?" Sonic asked.

"Of course not," Metal Sonic said. "The fact that you would suggest such a thing is insulting to both me and my late master."

Sonic found himself shocked that Metal Sonic would refer to Eggman so calmly after what had happened. Metal Sonic had seemed so shaken and angry after Eggman's death, it was strange now for Sonic to see the robot seem so calm about it. He hadn't been expecting Metal Sonic to forgive what had happened, nor had he expected the robot to ever get passed it.

Then again, Metal Sonic was a robot; he didn't have normal emotions like everyone else. It made sense that Metal Sonic would be more logical about things and less ruled by emotions, which was why Sonic had reached out to him in the first place. Metal Sonic would have an easier time putting his emotions aside to figure out what exactly was wrong with Tails, seeing as he didn't have emotions to begin with. Metal Sonic was likely the only one who could help him now, the only one who could look at the situation from a purely logical perspective and figure out the best mode of action.

Another thought suddenly occurred to Sonic, setting off the gears of his mind. What was Tails working on in his workshop right now? Tails had mentioned before that he intended on bringing Esplouge back to life, and he even had the body. Sure, Tails had said he was going to stop working on that, but then again, Tails wasn't exactly sound of mind anymore. There was clearly something still wrong with him, and it was obviously tied to his obsession with Esplouge.

Esplouge, who had been created by Eggman, likely with Metal Sonic's help. Was it possible for Metal Sonic to recreate Esplouge from memory, possibly as an attempt to properly recreate the last experiment he and his master had worked on together?

Was it possible that Metal Sonic was insane, too?

"You should know some stuff about Esplouge, shouldn't you?" Sonic asked suddenly, feeling the gears in his brain working in overdrive. Something inside him began to feel panicked, as though there was something deeply wrong, even without the presence of an actual threat.

"Yes," Metal Sonic answered unsurely, his robotic memory returning to Shadow and how suspicious the dark hedgehog had been of him during the last few months. "Why...?"

"Like, stuff about how he was created, right?" Sonic asked. "You know all about that stuff, right?"

"Yes," Metal Sonic confirmed. "Why do you want to know this?"

Sonic was silent for a moment, his gaze focused on the ground.

"... Please don't help Tails bring him back," Sonic said weakly. "I know he's going to ask you about it, but please don't help him."

"Of course," Metal Sonic said. "Why would you think I would help Tails do something like that?"

When Sonic didn't answer, Metal Sonic felt his concern grow. He decided to handle Sonic cautiously, unsure of Sonic's possible mood now that he couldn't see the blue hero's face.

"Sonic?" the robot asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine," Sonic said flatly.

"I am not tone deaf, Sonic," Metal Sonic said, causing the blue hero to finally look back up at him. Sonic looked terrified, as though something was weighing heavily on his mind. "There is obviously something that is concerning you. I will be unable to help you if you refuse to be honest with me."

"_Don't leave us!_" Sonic screamed. Metal Sonic nearly jumped from the noise, quickly checking the door to Tails' workshop to see if he had noticed the noise before speaking up.

"Sonic, what is going on?" Metal Sonic asked. "I will not leave, you have my word. I want to help you, both of you, as best I can. Please try to calm yourself."

Sonic was silent for another few moments, looking dangerously close to an emotional breakdown.

Much like Shadow had often looked before nearly snapping off one of Metal Sonic's arms.

It terrified Metal Sonic to even think about, but Sonic really did look like Shadow for a moment that seemed to drag on and on. It was horrifying how dangerously close Sonic was to completely breaking down, unable to handle whatever insanity Tails was going through.

The best thing for Sonic, the robot though, would probably be to distance himself from Tails, to spend some time with other people and try to clear his mind of all this insanity. Of course, he knew that as long as there was something wrong with Tails, Sonic would refuse to leave his side. There would be no point in even suggesting that fact to Sonic; Sonic always did as he pleased regardless of whether or not it was smart or logical.

And Tails was the most important person to Sonic, which hindered things further. Sonic would rather die trying to fix Tails than live knowing the fox was insane. Metal Sonic knew how dangerous that attitude was, but there was likely no way to reason with Sonic; he was being fueled almost entirely by emotion, and there was likely no way to completely reason with him. The most Metal Sonic could do was offer his support.

"Look, I'm sorry, man," Sonic said, seeming to calm down after a few silent moments. "I guess I'm just really stressed out right now or something. Just... Just try to imagine being with someone you really trust and care about for a long time, only to find out suddenly that they have a dead body hidden in a closet and finally understand how completely _insane_ they still are. It's fucking crazy."

"Believe me, I though Shadow was still sane for a long time," Metal Sonic explained, hoping that the mere mention of the darker hedgehog wouldn't cause Sonic to freak out again. "He may be as obsessed with Esplouge as Tails is, albeit in a different way. As much as Tails wishes to bring Esplouge back to life, Shadow wishes to ensure that Esplouge never comes back or lives on through another person."

"Yeah, but Tails hasn't attempted to kill anyone over it," Sonic said bitterly, glaring darkly at the mere mention of the darker hedgehog's name.

Metal Sonic was silent, figuring that the answer he would have given would have angered Sonic more than anything else. He knew more than Sonic did on the subject, but it was probably best to save that information for another day. Preferably a day when Tails was nowhere nearby to hear, and when Sonic was more emotionally stable.

That was, of course, assuming a day like that would ever come.

"So, where exactly does Tails have Esplouge's body?" Metal Sonic asked, deciding to change the subject. "You said it was in a closet...?"

"Look, I don't even wanna think about it, man," Sonic said, sounding exhausted. "I'm tired. Maybe I'll crash early tonight..."

Metal Sonic looked at the dark circles that had grown under Sonic's eyes and figured Sonic could use the sleep, so he raised no objections. After all, maybe with a good night's sleep, Sonic's emotions would be more stable and his mind more clear.

Then they could talk logically about the serious things that needed to be talked about.

"What are you gonna do?" Sonic asked. "You don't exactly need to sleep, do you?"

"... If Tails really is working on his plane, I believe I would enjoy helping him," Metal Sonic mused. "After all, I have helped my master build various things many times before."

Sonic appeared as though he was going to object this for a moment before seeming to change his mind. He shrugged casually, although something about it seemed forced, as though he were just trying to act calm despite that particular feeling being the furthest from him at the moment.

"You can try, I guess," Sonic said. "But don't be shocked if he completely freaks out on you."

"I am sure I will be fine," Metal Sonic said. "I have dealt with worse."

Sonic looked unsure for a moment before shrugging and heading toward the couch, figuring he didn't want to sleep in the same room as Esplouge's dead body.

"Suit yourself," Sonic said. "I'll be right here if you need me."

Metal Sonic headed toward Tails' workshop, entering cautiously. The lights were on, that was a good sign. Metal Sonic descended the stairs, still cautious, and took a moment to find Tails, who was actually working on his plane.

"Hey," Tails greeted absently, startling the robot slightly. "I thought I asked you guys not to come in here."

"I apologize," Metal Sonic said, figuring it would be better than starting a fight. "I was just wondering if you could use some help. I have some experience with building this kind of thing with my master."

"Wow, really?" Tails asked, seeming happily surprised. "You really want to help me?"

"Of course," Metal Sonic said. "I am in your house, and I feel that I should help out in any way I can. So, is there anything you need?"

* * *

Metal Sonic and Tails returned from Tails' workshop some time later, Tails in a thankfully happy mood.

"Thanks a bunch for helping me," Tails said cheerfully. "Working on my plane goes by a lot faster with someone to help, but Sonic hates this sort of thing."

"I am glad I could help," Metal Sonic said, just thankful that Tails was in a good mood. "Although it is late now; you should probably be getting to sleep."

Tails stole a glance at the nearest clock and saw that it was nearing midnight.

"Shoot, you're right," Tails said. "Time sure flies, doesn't..."

Tails trailed off, confusing Metal Sonic. After all, the fox had been perfectly normal while they had been working on his plane; where had this sudden silence come from? Metal Sonic looked at Tails' eyes, shocked by how suddenly they had grown distant, as though the fox's mind were on just about anything _but_ the present moment.

Metal Sonic also found himself surprised with how still Tails had gotten. It was almost impossible for him to detect any movement from the fox, even breathing. He almost looked like a statue...

Or as though he were dead. Tails almost looked as though he were dead, aside from the fact that he was still standing. Did Esplouge look like this now? Did Esplouge look as though he were a statue, as though he could easily be dead or alive?

"... Tails?" Metal Sonic asked after a while, causing the fox to jump as his mind was torn away from wherever it had been. "You were going to bed?"

"Oh... yeah..." Tails said. "Well, g'night."

Metal Sonic watched Tails climb up the stairs to his own room, wishing he could remember exactly _where _Sonic had said Esplouge's body was. In a sick sort of way, Metal Sonic found that he wanted to see the body, as though some sick part of him would find some perverse joy in seeing Esplouge dead.

After what Esplouge had done to his master, _his own creator_, seeing that little bastard dead would feel like justice. He had turned on his master, and now he was dead as well. He had murdered possibly the only person who could have fixed whatever had gone wrong with him, and now he was dead as well. And even that wasn't good enough.

_Even if he is dead,_ Metal Sonic though bitterly, _he is still alive. As long as Shadow, Tails, and Sonic continue to be so consumed by his memory, Esplouge will continue to live on._

Metal Sonic looked to his fleshy counterpart thoughtfully, admiring how peaceful Sonic looked while he was asleep. It was nice to see him calm for once as opposed to how frantic he was becoming.

In a way, it would probably be better if Sonic just never woke up, if he just remained in that nice, peaceful state forever. Of course, that was unrealistic, but it was still a nice thought.

At least that way, Sonic would always be peaceful.

* * *

A/N: I love having Sonic and Metal Sonic talk to each other. I swear, I could write an entire fanfic on just them talking. ... Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but seriously, I love writing them talking to each other for some reason.

Anyway, Sonic's stress level is going through the roof, Tails is likely still insane, and Metal Sonic is stuck in the middle of it all. I actually have the next chapter mostly finished as I'm typing this, so it'll hopefully be posted within a week or two, depending on how much free time I have. I can't wait to post it; I'm actually pretty proud of it so far. (I hold myself to very strict standards, so that actually means a lot.) Anyway, I hope this chapter was as much fun to read as it was to write!


	17. Morning Talk

A/N: Why yes, I _am_ posting this on Thanksgiving. How festive, right? Ha ha. The main reason is because I have to work tomorrow, on_ Black Friday _(which my nightmares are made of), and seeing any new reviews (or just hits, those at least let me know people are reading) to this story is going to cheer me up immensely.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he had gotten there or why he was even standing there, but that was alright in his mind. The sleeping form he was staring at was enough to keep his feet firmly rooted to the carpet and his eyes firmly trained on that one spot in the darkness, that one spot that rose and fell with the sleeper's breathing.

It would be so easy to kill him right now. To just kill him and have all of this insanity over with. He had the power to do it, he even had the ability to do it without anyone else knowing...

But he had to wait. He had to wait until everyone else understood.

They would know it was him if he did it now. And they would be angry at him, unaware that what he had done was a good thing. What needed to be done. They were still so convinced that there was nothing wrong, and he had to wait for them to come to their senses.

They were all just so fucking clueless.

Scowling, Shadow walked into the room, keeping his eyes trained firmly on Tails, as though expecting the fox to get up at any moment, to reveal that he had been awake and that he was ready to attack.

But Tails didn't move.

He was really sleeping.

Cautiously, Shadow laid a hand on Tails' head, running his fingers through the fur absently.

Imagining the feeling of Tails' blood between his fingers instead of merely his fur. The feeling of _Esplouge's_ blood between his fingers rather than Tails' fur.

"Someday..." Shadow muttered. "Someday soon... They'll understand. They'll finally understand, and I'll be _lucky_ to be the one who gets to kill you."

Tails failed to respond, continuing his sleep completely unaware that anyone else was there with him.

"Sonic and Metal Sonic just don't understand yet," Shadow continued. "They just don't understand what you are. What you've become. But you can't fool me, oh no. I know what you are, _who _you are now. Tails is gone. He died the same night that Esplouge faked his own death. You're not really Tails, so it would be okay... if I just..."

Shadow's hands reached out as though out of his control, moving slowly toward Tails' neck. It would be so easy to catch him by surprise, to murder Tails, to murder _Esplouge_ without a sound. No one had to know, no one had to know what he had saved them all from. No one had to know the deaths that would be avoided simply by murdering this one child...

No. This would be too easy. Esplouge had to go out with a bang, killing him so easily would be a disgrace. He had survived explosions, had survived his heart being removed and his spine being fatally damaged in the process.

His final death, his _true_ death, had to live up to that. What had failed to kill him had to be trumped by what would _succeed_ in killing him. Strangling him now would just be a disappointment.

Shadow reluctantly brought his hands back to his body, understanding in his warped mind that now was not the time.

"I just have to get them to understand," Shadow said. "I just have to get those idiots to understand what you are. And then they'll _help_ me kill you."

_And maybe I'll kill them, too, just for not listening to me._

_Yeah, I'll just kill them all. Each and every last damned one of them..._

_That'll teach those fucking idiots to not listen to me._

Shadow took one last disgusted look at Tails before stepping back and using his Chaos Control to leave the house behind.

* * *

Tails startled, having been woken up by a sudden flash of light. But not matter how much he looked around, there was nothing; just a dark and empty room. There was nothing that could have caused the light that had woken him up, just a dark and empty room.

Tails reached under the covers of his bed and fished out the red chaos emerald, hugging it tightly to himself, as if to derive comfort from it.

Although whether it was out of force of habit or because he actually believed Esplouge was somewhere inside the gem, not even Tails knew for sure.

All he knew was that he was scared, and the emerald made him feel safer. It comforted him, just as a stuffed animal comforted a child. It made no sense logically, it just made him feel better.

Tails lay back down, still holding onto the emerald as if it were a favorite toy. The flash of light that had woken him must have been a dream or something. After all, there was clearly nothing going on, and he was pretty sure neither Sonic nor his robot counterpart would play such a lame prank on him.

So it must have just been a dream.

Tails pulled his blanket up to his chin and fell back to sleep, still holding onto the chaos emerald.

_His_ chaos emerald.

* * *

Sonic checked on Tails as soon as he got up in the morning, feeling concerned when he saw Tails was holding onto the red chaos emerald in his sleep. It was probably just coincidence, but Tails had so strongly associated that particular emerald with Esplouge, it was still uncomfortable to look at or think about.

But Tails looked so peaceful right now. Just sleeping lazily like a child, appearing as though he didn't have a care in the world. It was sweet, and the thought of waking Tails up from such a peaceful sleep...

Sonic quietly exited the room, closing the door softly behind himself so as to not wake Tails.

* * *

"How is he?" Metal Sonic asked the moment he saw Sonic return from Tails' room. He had been waiting for Sonic in the kitchen, and Sonic eagerly went to the table and sat down, still feeling exhausted.

"He's fine," Sonic said sleepily. "He's just sleeping."

"That makes sense," Metal Sonic said. "He was up very late working on his plane."

"Oh, yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that," Sonic said. "Did you convince him to let you work on it with him?"

"Yes," Metal Sonic answered. "He was very excited to have someone helping him work on his plane. It was nice; it was like working with my master again, only Tails is significantly more patient than my master was. It was interesting to work on something without being yelled at for once."

"I'm glad you two had fun," Sonic said, smiling. "After all the crap that's been going on, I'm just glad you two get along."

"What has been going on?" Metal Sonic asked. "I thought you said Tails has been relatively peaceful lately...?"

"No, I mean... Just... Since _everything_," Sonic said tiredly. "Since Esplouge first came into our lives. Tails has never been quite the same after that, and to be honest, I don't blame him. He's always been too scared to talk to anyone about what exactly Esplouge did to him, you know, he never went into detail. Considering, I can't say I blame him for that. The _best _case would be that Esplouge only cut and beat him."

Metal Sonic was silent, trying to figure out the best response.

"It makes me sick," Sonic continued. "It makes me sick to think about the things that freak used to do to Tails. Nothing he ever did to me or anyone else came _close_..."

"What did Esplouge do to you?" Metal Sonic asked. "I was not there, remember? Esplouge had damaged me, and my master spent a long time fixing me. Shadow was not the most reliable source of information on this matter. So what was Esplouge like from your point of view?"

Sonic considered saying he didn't want to talk about it before realizing that in a way, _he _had been the one who brought up the whole subject. Besides, it was nice to have someone to talk to about this. It was therapeutic, in a way.

"The absolute _sickest_ thing he did to me," Sonic began, "was right after he kidnapped Tails."

"What did he do?" Metal Sonic asked, hoping he wasn't pushing things too far or being too nosy. He was sure this information was none of his business, but he was still curious about the horrible things Esplouge had done to other people.

From Metal Sonic's point of view, all Esplouge had done was severely damage his memory, which Eggman had been able to repair, and kill his master. He was aware that Esplouge had murdered others, had tortured others, and obviously that he had kidnapped Tails at multiple points, but he knew none of the details. In a sick way, he found it interesting. Esplouge was a complete mystery to him, or rather, Esplouge's actions were.

After all, Metal Sonic knew how Esplouge had been created, enough so that he could confidently recreate that monster if he so chose. Of course, unless some serious damage was done to his artificial mind, he would never try to do something so insane.

Even if he could fix what his master had done wrong in creating Esplouge, trying to bring that monster back would be nothing short of complete insanity.

"He called me," Sonic said finally, his voice sounding drained. "Right after he kidnapped Tails for the first time, he called me."

"He called you?" Metal Sonic asked, having expected something much more severe. "I fail to see how..."

"I got to spend the next few minutes listening to him beat the hell out of Tails," Sonic finished, unable to look at the robot as he spoke. "All I could do was sit there, listening to Tails scream while that bastard just _laughed_. It was the most horrifying thing I've ever experienced. Having to hear my best friend scream and cry for help, while I was completely powerless to help him. I didn't know where they were, and do you want to know the sickest part? _I couldn't make myself hang up the phone_."

Metal Sonic was silent in apparent horror.

"I... I couldn't stand to hear him scream," Sonic said. "I still have _nightmares_ about it... But I... But I just couldn't hang up the phone. And he _knew_ I wouldn't be able to hang up, so he just kept taunting me. He knew I would stay on the phone as long as I could, because even though it horrified me to hear Tails scream... At least I knew he was still alive."

Metal Sonic was silent for a moment, trying to process this information in his artificial brain, to take into account how badly Esplouge had manipulated the emotions of others to achieve his goals. It made sense to him in a way; after all, Esplouge had caused _him_, Metal Sonic, a robot, to truly feel despair, despite not being programmed with it.

The moment Esplouge had forced Metal Sonic's claws into his master's chest, the robot knew what despair truly felt like. To see his master die so easily and be unable to stop it...

"Cruel as he was," Metal Sonic said, trying to force his mind to stay close to the subject, "even my master would never have been capable of something like that. He always admired you, Sonic."

"What?" Sonic asked, wondering just where on earth this subject change had come from.

"It is a little tough to explain," Metal Sonic said. "But I think you and my master completed each other in a way. Without him, you no longer have plans to foil, and you can no longer play the hero. Without you, he would have had no one to stop him from taking over the world, and in a way, I think that would have been too boring for him. He needed someone to oppose him."

Sonic still appeared confused, so Metal Sonic elaborated.

"It was like you two were playing a game of cat and mouse, where the two of you were both the cat and the mouse simultaneously. Without the other, though, all you can do is sit around, trying to understand the meaning of it all. You two completed each other; that is why my master never ordered me to explicitly kill you. He understood how your game of cat and mouse worked, and he wanted to continue playing. In a way, the two of you were like friends, or rather, friendly rivals. Neither was willing to completely destroy the other, and as long as you two followed your little unwritten rules, at the end of the day, neither one of you would be truly hurt."

Sonic seemed confused by all of this.

"I never really thought of it that way," the blue hero said. "But I guess you're kinda right. I mean, if I wasn't so worried about Tails right now, I guess I really wouldn't know what to do with my time now that there's really no one to defeat."

"My master did not mean to create Esplouge the way he did," Metal Sonic said. "Esplouge was merely supposed to be another part of your little game of cat and mouse, a new challenge for you and your friends to stop. My master never meant for him to be so evil."

"So, where did Eggman go wrong?" Sonic asked. "Or did he just make a whole bunch of mistakes as usual?"

"My master only knew how to harness the energy of the chaos emeralds to power machines," Metal Sonic explained. "To create a _life_ purely from energy is another thing entirely. He was just trying to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, to create a more powerful ultimate life form. He just failed to understand how the energy of the chaos emeralds works."

"Are you saying you know how it works?" Sonic asked.

"Of course not," Metal Sonic said. "If I knew, I could have prevented all of this. If my master had known, Esplouge would have been a creature just like Shadow, given life using the energy from the chaos emeralds, but still relatively stable. If I had known, I could have convinced him to stop until he knew what he was doing. Or I could have corrected his errors. I could have done something if only I had known how badly this would all turn out."

"I guess I can't blame either of you," Sonic said. "If you're right about Eggman not creating Esplouge out of some kind of weird suicidal plan of his, then I guess I can't really blame either one of you. If anything, it's the chaos emerald's fault..."

"No, it is not," Metal Sonic said firmly. "The chaos emeralds are not sentient; they do not have minds of their own or come up with plans. Esplouge was created by a horrible miscalculation, a _mistake_, not by some jewels. The emeralds have a lot of power, but there are limits to the power that they hold. They are not alive, Sonic."

Sonic was silent, unsure whether he should argue or simply agree. After all, there were times when the emeralds almost seemed to have a mind of their own...

Or was that just in his head? Tails certainly seemed to believe that the emeralds were alive in a way; he was probably still convinced that Esplouge's "soul" or whatever was in the red emerald, the one he always kept with him, even now that he was supposedly "better."

But Sonic knew that Tails wasn't better. After all, if Tails was better now, he wouldn't still have Esplouge's body stuffed in one of the closets in his house. He would have buried Esplouge somewhere, preferably somewhere far away so he could finally just get passed all of the chaos Esplouge had brought into their lives.

"I guess you're right," Sonic finally said, deciding to agree with whatever Metal Sonic had said before, realizing that he didn't quite remember. Something about the chaos emeralds...? "I just wish all this madness would stop."

"Believe me, I do, too," Metal Sonic agreed.

* * *

A/N: Who's crazier; Shadow or Tails? Metal Sonic's probably the only sane man left (well, besides Knuckles, but that's because he's on Angel Island and not involved in all of this) in this entire fic. Ha ha. (I guess Rouge is still sane, too, I mean, she just dropped off the face of the earth or something, ha ha.)

Oh yes, and Sonic mentions something from the prequal to Metal Sonic in this chapter. I love working on the prequel while I'm working on this; any flash backs or references to it are going to be much easier for me to write now!


	18. Train of Thought

Tails lay in his bed, staring at the door blankly. He knew he could get up and go hang out with Sonic and Metal Sonic, but the motivation to do so was lost for some reason. He would have been content just lying there the entire day, or until Sonic came to get him, whichever came first.

He felt drained, more than he had felt in a long time, although he had no idea why. He had gotten plenty of sleep, much more than he needed, actually. Could it simply be that he had gotten too _much _sleep, that his body was tired because it had been in a state of rest for too long? That had happened to him frequently after he had finally come home after Esplouge had first kidnapped him; after the initial insomnia had subsided, Tails had found himself chronically sleepy, sleeping almost entire days away. Maybe he had been trying to catch up on the lost sleep, but he could remember being sleepy simply for sleeping, as though no matter what he did, he could never get enough sleep.

But now was different. He was over what had happened now, and he had been fine up until now. Besides, he didn't really feel_ tired_; just a lack of motivation to get out of bed.

Tails sighed deeply, feeling his fingers clench around the chaos emerald as though by reflex. He wasn't sure if it was just in his mind, but he could swear he felt the power lying dormant inside the chaos emerald. The same power that had driven Esplouge mad.

The same power that had given Esplouge _life_.

But that was silly. Sure, the emerald had given Esplouge life, it had most likely driven him completely _insane _as well, but Tails himself couldn't tap into the powers of the chaos emeralds. It seemed like only a select few could do such a thing, among those few being Esplouge himself, if he had still been alive.

Tails had seen firsthand the power that Esplouge gained while using the chaos emeralds. He could remember the terrified wonder he felt, the morbid curiosity at being in such a dangerous situation, but the scientist in him wondering just how on earth it all _worked_. Even when he had been in danger, even when lives were at risk, Tails had always wondered just how the emeralds worked, and how the select few that could use them used them. It always served to feed his curiosity; just how on earth could an inanimate object be so powerful as to give life, to give power...?

To bring madness? How was it possible for a simple object to drive someone completely insane?

Then a morbid thought occurred to Tails. It was just a fleeting thought, but as soon as it entered his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Was it possible that this emerald, the same emerald which had driven Esplouge insane, was slowly doing the same to him? Was it possible that prolonged exposure to this object would cause Tails to meet a similar fate?

Was it possible he was already insane? After all, he had spent so much time around Esplouge, being tortured and beaten down, and now he had exposed himself to the same thing that had driven Esplouge that mad in the first place. Was it possible he was already mad and just didn't know it?

"I'm not crazy," Tails said quietly, trying to reassure himself. "I... I'm not crazy... Am I?"

Tails tried to think about it logically. Shadow sure thought he was crazy, but then again, Shadow wasn't exactly sane himself. The fact that even _Metal Sonic _couldn't handle him was proof enough of that. After all, the robot had been Eggman's right-hand man once upon a time, and to be able to tolerate that kind of insanity...

Then again, Eggman hadn't been the same level of crazy that Esplouge had been at and that Shadow was at now. Eggman had been crazy, sure, but he hadn't been outright _insane_, which certainly couldn't be said for Shadow or Esplouge. After all, Shadow had tried to kidnap him, to _kill _him simply for... what? Reminding him of Esplouge? That wasn't exactly a sane attitude to have. And Esplouge...

Well, Esplouge had done some pretty horrible things. Things that Tails had been trying very hard to forget.

"So... Where does that leave me?" Tails wondered out loud, looking at the chaos emerald in his hands as if it would answer him. "I'm not homicidal. I would never want to hurt a person. But there are other kinds of insanity besides being criminally insane. Am I one of those?"

Unsurprisingly, the emerald did nothing as a response. After all, it was just an inanimate object, it couldn't understand his thoughts much less have thoughts and opinions of it's own. It was just an inanimate object. A very powerful inanimate object.

A very powerful inanimate object that used to glow with a red light whenever Esplouge was near it, but now appeared perpetually dull. In a way, Tails found himself almost missing the way the emeralds would glow when Esplouge was near them; in a sick way, they had looked kind of pretty. Now they were back to being the same dull and lifeless objects they had been before Esplouge had been created, much as Esplouge was now.

Just another dull and lifeless object, buried somewhere in the ground. Likely unable to become one with the earth due to lack of ability to decay, being an artificial creature. Was that really all Esplouge had become? It seemed so strange after everything they had been through. Esplouge had always seemed oblivious to pain, immortal. Even the things that had been able to hurt him never seemed to keep him down for long.

Esplouge had survived a lot of things that would kill virtually any other creature. Explosions, self-inflicted blood loss, and various other injuries. After all that, it was still strange to realize that something _had _been able to kill Esplouge, that there had been something that could permanently stop him. It was still weird to believe that something had been more powerful than him.

"I really need to stop thinking about him," Tails said to himself. "I... I got better because I stopped thinking about him as much. I need to keep that up, or..."

Or what? Tails could barely remember the things that had lead to this, to Sonic living with him permanently instead of just crashing with him while on break from adventuring, to Metal Sonic staying with them as well, to Shadow's complete insanity. Tails could barely remember things from more than a month or so ago, when he thought about it.

Something bad had happened to his mind. He had done something bad because of his obsession with Esplouge.

The only thing Tails _could _remember clearly was his plan to bring Esplouge back to life. That was certainly something he would never forget.

An idea he could never abandon.

After all, he had cared so much about Esplouge, and the thought of leaving him in the ground to rot...

Except he wouldn't rot, Tails reminded himself. Esplouge had an artificial body, that was why Tails had a chance at bringing him back in the first place. All he had to do was figure out how Eggman had created him and fix the mistakes the late doctor had made.

With Metal Sonic staying with them now, Tails figured that part of it wouldn't be too hard. All he had to do was figure out how to either trick Metal Sonic or convince him into helping.

_Maybe if I try telling him that it would mean so much to Eggman to see his experiment finished correctly..._ Tails thought. _That might work._

Of course, Tails would have to figure out a way around Sonic. After all, the hedgehog didn't exactly approve of his plans, and unlike Metal Sonic, couldn't be reprogrammed to simply forget.

_Reprogrammed..._

That was it! If Tails wanted Metal Sonic to help him, all he had to do was reprogram the robot. Of course, that was easier said than done, but it was still possible. All he had to do was avoid destroying any of the robot's memory; without the memory of how he and Eggman had created Esplouge, Metal Sonic would be completely worthless to him.

_Maybe if I convince him I'm only curious as to how he was created, maybe I could convince him then. I mean, I don't think Metal Sonic will have any problem telling me about his own programming, only Esplouge's. And once I get that information..._

Tails smiled, feeling his plan coming together. One way or another, he was going to bring Esplouge back to life, but more than that. He was going to make sure Esplouge was safe and sane, that Esplouge would be friendly and never hurt him or anyone else ever again.

They were finally going to be able to live together in peace. Of course, they still had to do something about Shadow...

And of course, Amy and Cream. Tails missed them dearly, and wanted things to be as normal as possible. But what could he do about them? He couldn't bring their bodies back, and programming an entire _mind,_ much less _two_, would be next to impossible. He didn't know everything about how he himself thought, much less about how his own friends thought.

But still, it was worth a try. He could try to recreate them from as much as he could remember about them, fixing them as he needed to until they were as close to normal as possible.

And then, he could have all three of them gang up on and kill Shadow. If Shadow wasn't going to be reasonable and peaceful, then there was no place in Tails' world for him, and it wasn't like Shadow was going to just walk out to never be heard from again. No, the safest option was to kill him, or rather, have him killed, so that he could never hurt anyone again.

Now all Tails had to do was figure out how to put this plan into action. Once he could bring Esplouge back to life, he could figure out the rest of the details for creating bodies for both Amy and Cream, as well as trying to recreate them as accurately as possible. And after that, he could program them all to kill Shadow, to drag him to Hell where he belonged, and then he could fix their memories so that they never had to remember killing him in the first place.

Of course, Tails would still know. Try as he might, he couldn't reprogram his own memory. He would still remember, and try as he might, he would never be able to forget.

But if that was the case, why couldn't he remember much of what happened a couple months ago? He hadn't planned on doing that to his memory; it had just happened that way, but if that was the case, then it was entirely possible for him to forget the things he didn't need to remember.

And if that was the case, then he would have no problem having his creations kill Shadow and then simply forgetting who Shadow had even been in the first place.

Everything would work out perfectly.


	19. I Broke It

Tails finally got out of bed, barely taking notice of the time on the clock before heading downstairs to look for Sonic and Metal Sonic.

His plan was going to work. One way or another, it was going to work. All he had to do was play it cool, act normal so they didn't suspect anything. That would be easy enough; he still wasn't sure how he was going to convince Metal Sonic to tell him about how his memory was wired - or how he was going to get Metal Sonic alone so he could simply reprogram the robot to do as he pleased - , so for now, he just had to wing it. That would be easy enough; Tails had spent enough time with Esplouge to know how to handle unpredictable situations.

Truly insane unpredictable situations...

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic greeted from the kitchen, startling Tails from his thoughts. "Are you just now getting up?"

"... Well, I was up all night working on my plane," Tails defended tiredly. "And I've been up for a while now; just didn't feel like getting out of bed."

"Oh... Well, Metal told me the two of you had some nice bonding time," Sonic said, losing some of his previous cheerfulness. "I'm glad you two had fun."

Tails smiled, looking to Metal Sonic.

_Even if I have to destroy you and hack what's left of your artificial brain..._

"I am, too," Tails said, trying to sound cheerful and hoping he succeeded. "It was very fun working with you, Metal Sonic."

_... I will do whatever it takes to bring Esplouge back to me._

_Or... Tails... I am... I am Es- No, I'm Tails. Right?_

_Yes... I'm Es- I'm Tails. I'm Tails._

"You look like you're still tired," Sonic commented, trying to break the silence that Tails hadn't even been aware of. "You must have been up really late."

"Oh, uh, yeah, we were," Tails said. "I'm still pretty tired, actually..."

"We can take it easy today, if you want," Sonic said. "I'm fine just chilling and having a lazy day."

"Yeah," Tails agreed. "That sounds good to me. But won't Metal Sonic get bored?"

"I will be fine," Metal Sonic said reassuringly. "I like it here. It is... It is peaceful here."

_Oh yeah, he was with Shadow before, wasn't he?_

_... Shadow..._

"Are you okay, Tails?" Sonic asked. "You look irritated."

"I'm fine," Tails said sharply, forcing himself and barely succeeding to not glare at Metal Sonic as he spoke. "I'm gonna be in my workshop for a bit."

Before Sonic or Metal Sonic could say another word, Tails was descending the steps into his workshop, feeling absolutely _murderous_.

* * *

Sonic stared after Tails for a moment, confused.

"That was... weird," Sonic said. "What do you think got into him?"

"How would I know?" Metal Sonic asked. "You know Tails better than I do."

"Yeah, but he looked like he was angry at you," Sonic said. "Did you and him have a fight or something...?"

"No," Metal Sonic answered. "The two of us worked for a while on Tails' plane. That was it. We got along just fine. Perhaps..."

"'Perhaps' what?" Sonic asked.

"Perhaps he is angry with the fact that I used to stay with Shadow," Metal Sonic said. "Even if he is not still obsessed with Esplouge, Tails still has plenty of reason to be angry with Shadow."

Sonic grew angry himself, remembering how Shadow had kidnapped Tails and tried to kill him.

_If I hadn't have gotten there when I did..._

"I guess that makes sense," Sonic said. "I mean, the him being mad at Shadow part. You didn't have anything to do with it, though, so why would he be mad at you?"

"He may still associate me with Shadow," the robot explained.

_Or,_ Metal Sonic thought, _he may still be angry with me for trying to kill him..._

It seemed like it had been a lifetime ago, but Metal Sonic could still remember that night clearly. How Esplouge had kidnapped Tails yet again. How Esplouge had been planning to kill Tails.

But Metal Sonic had been planning on killing Tails as well, out of revenge for his fallen master. To take something precious away from Esplouge, just as the fox had done to him. Of course, his plan hadn't succeeded, Esplouge had offered himself as a replacement to spare Tails' death. But he had at least attempted to kill Esplouge then, and had failed. It was likely Tails was still angry about that.

Judging by Sonic's attitude toward the whole situation, Metal Sonic assumed his fleshy counterpart wasn't aware of what had transpired that night.

Otherwise, Sonic would likely be angry at him as well.

"Well, whatever it is, hopefully Tails will get over it," Sonic said. "To be honest, he kinda scares me when he's angry now."

Metal Sonic waited a moment for Sonic to elaborate, speaking up when he realized Sonic wasn't going to say anything else.

"You are afraid that he still believes he is Esplouge," Metal Sonic more stated than asked. "That whenever he is angered, he will revert back to believing he is Esplouge."

Sonic appeared shocked, but tried to hide it.

"... Is it really that obvious?" Sonic asked, looking away from his metallic counterpart in favor of staring out the window. "I mean... I know it's stupid. He hasn't acted weird like that in _months_..."

"But you still found Esplouge's body inside this house," Metal Sonic finished. "There is still reason to believe there is something wrong with Tails, even if it is not as apparent now as it was before."

"Pretty much," Sonic said. "I still worry that he'll go crazy again. Heh, having you here is pretty comforting, actually. I... If Tails tries to kill me again... I can't... I _won't_ do anything to stop him. I just can't. He's my best friend, my little bro. I can't hurt him..."

"How does that make my presence here comforting?" Metal Sonic asked.

"Because...I don't know. I guess I trust you not to hurt him."

Sonic looked back to Metal Sonic, forcing a smile.

"You're more rational than I am," Sonic continued. "If Tails tries to kill me, I think you'll be able to calm him down. And I trust you not to kill him."

* * *

Tails laid lazily in the cockpit of his plane, staring up at the ceiling.

_Fucking Shadow..._

Even when he wasn't there, Shadow still seemed to be ruining everything. Had almost made him lose his cool and lash out at the only person who could help him.

He _needed_ Metal Sonic. And if the robot didn't trust him, it was only going to be harder to use him.

"Esplouge..."

Tails closed his eyes, imagining that Esplouge was there with him. He imagined Esplouge holding him protectively, something he had only done a small handful of times, but something that had made him feel oddly safe nonetheless.

He had known Esplouge wasn't going to hurt him. Whenever Esplouge's arms were around him in that way, Tails had known Esplouge wouldn't hurt him.

He wanted so badly to feel that same embrace, to feel Esplouge all around him, but in a protective way. Once he succeeded in his plan, it would be possible.

He would be able to hold Tai- be able to be held by Esplouge again.

Tails curled up on his side, staring at a random point in space. He smiled and reached out toward it, as though expecting something of it other than just another pocket of air.

As though expecting someone to be there, someone he could touch and feel and _hurt..._

And hold.

"Tails..."

* * *

He had fallen asleep. He wasn't sure for how long, but he had actually fallen asleep.

_Weird... I haven't been sleeping at all recently..._

He looked to the object in his hand, surprised he had managed to hold onto it in his sleep.

The red chaos emerald. It sparkled so beautifully, even without a decent source of light to reflect off of its smooth surface. Such a beautiful object, the color of fresh blood...

Shadow stretched his aching body, trying to force it back into a state of awareness.

He was always in a state of constant awareness. Always. Falling asleep had been a fluke of some sort, highly unusual. He had to keep himself ready in case _he_ came.

Esplouge.

If Esplouge came, he had to be ready for the fight. He couldn't let Esplouge win.

He had to kill Esplouge.

And the gem he held in his hands was the only way to do it. It was the only thing he knew of that would hurt that little monster now, so as long as he kept his hands on that red gem...

There was no way Esplouge would win. When they next saw each other, there was no way Esplouge would win.

* * *

_Esplouge, I promise I'm going to wake you up. One way or another, I'm going to wake you up._

Tails felt himself in a state of sleep somehow, as though he was aware of being asleep but still unable to wake up. He felt as though his body were floating in a sea of nothing, as though he were as light as a feather or even lighter than that.

But that was okay. Even if he couldn't see anything or feel anything, he still knew that Esplouge was there with him. Somehow, he just knew that Esplouge was there with him, and that was all he needed.

They didn't even need to talk anymore. Tails found that Esplouge knew what he was thinking and feeling, and vice versa. They were linked in a way, and they shared a special bond that no one else did.

_They all think you're dead right now, Esplouge, but I promise I'm going to do whatever it takes to bring your body back to life. I'm going to fix you so you can be happy and sane, just like you wanted. You won't have to worry about your racing thoughts or the voice anymore, or the chaos emerald. I'm gonna help you find peace._

Tails felt something, something like Esplouge's arms wrapping around him. It startled him at first, but when nothing else happened, Tails relaxed. He was confident Esplouge wasn't going to hurt him. After all, this was only a dream, a lucid dream, and one couldn't feel pain in dreams. Even if Esplouge had wanted to hurt him, he still couldn't.

_What if peace isn't what I'm after, though, Tails? What if I'm after something else? _

_What do you mean? I know you just wanted to find peace; you told me so yourself. And those notes you left at Amy's house the night you..._

Esplouge held Tails tightly, constricting the smaller fox's chest. Tails began to feel panicked, as though he was unable to breathe.

_I am the fucking chaos emerald. To find peace would mean to lose myself._

Tails felt even more panicked as Esplouge squoze him tighter and tighter. But no matter how much he tried to respond, his body just wouldn't move.

_Tails? If I lose myself, what happens to me? Do I die? Or do I simply become a different person? What do you think, Tails?_

Tails tried to respond, both by movement and by sound, but he felt as though his throat and chest were constricted and Esplouge kept squeezing him tighter and tighter. He couldn't make a sound, and his body felt as though it had locked up.

_Do you really want to do that to me? Do you want to kill me, Tails? You tried to once, remember? You tried to hold glass to my throat. Do you remember how that turned out? Hunh, sweetie? Do you remember how that turned out? You still have the scar on your back..._

Tails was screaming on the inside, panicking wildly, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't so much as lift a finger. Hope finally came in the form of Esplouge loosening his hold slightly in favor of nuzzling the back of Tails' neck.

At least now Tails felt like he could breathe.

_You still belong to me. No matter what happens, Tails, you'll always belong to me. Even if I die and am erased permanently from your memory, you will always be my precious little Tails. My. Precious. Little. _Miles_._

_

* * *

_

Sonic and his robot counterpart startled, first hearing the sound of shattering glass, quickly accompanied by Tails screaming. Sonic jumped up without hesitation and dashed into Tails' workshop, not caring if there was danger as long as he could be there to help Tails if he needed to. Metal Sonic followed closely, ready to help out if he was needed.

Sonic found Tails sitting curled up in the cockpit of his plane, a horrified expression on his face. Red glass was littered in a small area beneath the plane, as though a small, red glass item had been dropped...

Or as though glass had been dropped into a pool of fresh blood.

Sonic shook off the morbid thought, noting that there were no new wounds on Tails' body.

"Tails, what...?"

"I- It broke!" Tails cried. "_The chaos emerald broke!_"

"What?" Sonic asked, eyeing the red pile of glass, wondering how on earth it was possible. The chaos emeralds were supposed to be indestructible, there was just no way...

"_Esplouge needed me to keep it safe for him, and I fucking broke it!_" Tails continued in his panicked tirade. Sonic found himself just grateful Tails wasn't trying to move; the last thing they needed was for Tails to try to cut himself with one of the emerald shards. "_Sonic, how the hell do I fix this?_"

"How would I know?" Sonic found himself asking, panicking simply because Tails was panicking. "I'm not an expert on these things; I didn't even know they were breakable!"

"Calm down, both of you," Metal Sonic ordered, observing the pile of red glass. "Sonic, something is wrong here. Shadow has had the red chaos emerald for the last two months. How could these shards have come from it if he is not here? Moreover, how could a chaos emerald possibly break? The chaos emeralds are indestructible; I highly doubt simply being dropped could break them."

"But Tails has had that thing since... Tails has had that emerald since before Esplouge died, how on earth did Shadow get it?" Sonic asked. "And if that isn't it, what is it?"

"I made another one," Tails mumbled, speaking so quietly, it was shocking Sonic could hear him at all. "Shadow stole mine, so I made another one. But it's not the right one, and I need to get the real one back so Esplouge doesn't worry about it."

"Tails..."

"Sonic, please take Tails into the house," Metal Sonic said. "I will clean up this mess and return to you shortly."

Sonic nodded and gently helped Tails out of his plane and lead him up the stairs and toward his house. As they passed Metal Sonic, the robot noticed for a brief moment something very strange.

Tails was smirking. Tails was looking directly at the robot and he was smirking.

Metal Sonic paused for a moment after watching them go back into the house, wondering briefly why Tails had looked at him that way before getting to work cleaning up the shattered fake emerald on the floor.

Nothing was making sense anymore. Shadow constantly lost his composure and was quickly going insane, Sonic was no longer happy, instead constantly freaking out over every little thing that happened to Tails, and _Tails_...

Even Metal Sonic wasn't sure what was going on in the fox's mind. It was obviously something pretty bad, but it was beyond logical comprehension.

"Perhaps I merely require more data," Metal Sonic mused. "I can come to a more accurate conclusion after I observe Tails for a while."

But how long was "a while"? How long would he have to sit and observe Tails and Sonic before he could figure out what was wrong with the two of them?

And what on earth would he be able to do after that? Even if he knew what was wrong with them, how on earth was he going to fix it? He had tried and failed numerous times on Shadow; and he was absolutely sure that Tails, at the very least, would be no different. Sonic was perhaps the only one left that he could try to help, and even that was a stretch.

After all, Sonic cared so much about Tails' well-being. And as long as Tails continued to be insane, Sonic would likely slowly start going insane himself.

Even with Esplouge dead, his influence was still corrupting everyone who had any sort of memory of him, like a disease that would never go away.

Metal Sonic quickly cleaned up the shards of the fake emerald Tails had dropped and climbed the stairs back into the house, shocked by what was waiting for him inside.

* * *

A/N: Any guesses as to what Metal Sonic is so shocked by? Also, I can't believe no one called me out on the glaring inconsistency with Tails having the emerald even though Shadow snagged it from him a few chapters ago. If anyone would like to, I wouldn't mind having someone beta read future chapters for me so things like that don't happen again.

Also, new poll in my profile; which of my fan fictions should I focus on updating more? Please vote to let me know!


	20. Can't Forget

Metal Sonic climbed up the stairs into Tails' house, and was momentarily stunned by the sight he was greeted with.

Tails was on top of Sonic, trying to strangle him. His hands were around the hedgehog's throat, absolutely crushing it, and Sonic was doing nothing as a response. All the hedgehog seemed capable of was grasping onto Tails' wrists and staring up at him with terrified eyes.

Metal Sonic hardly let a second pass before he tore Tails off of Sonic, trying to be as gentle as possible. He held Tails back as the fox struggled, trying to get his hands back around Sonic's throat. Sonic merely stared at the two of them, his emerald green eyes filled to the brim with a terror that would have frightened Metal Sonic had he been capable of feeling emotion.

It was just so unlike Sonic to look so scared. Any sort of fear just looked wrong on the hedgehog's face.

Tails finally started to calm down, for which the robot was grateful. Metal Sonic still held onto him out of worry that he'd attack Sonic again.

"Sonic...?" Metal Sonic asked.

"T- Tails..." Sonic said weakly. His eyes were brimming with tears, although none managed to fall. "Tails... What on earth did Esplouge do to you?"

"Sonic, what happened?" Metal Sonic asked.

The robot then thought back to how Tails had smirked at him before leaving the workshop. Had Tails been planning on attacking Sonic? Had all of this been planned out?

Just what on earth was going on in Tails' head?

"Darn... Didn't get to stop your breathing," Tails remarked harshly, his eyes blank despite the empty grin on his face. He held out his hands as though reaching out toward Sonic. "Come on. Just put your neck between my fingers, _sweetheart_."

"Sonic, what on earth is going on?" Metal Sonic asked again.

Sonic was shaking, still trying not to cry as he stared at Tails. It was confusing to Metal Sonic; why was Sonic reacting like this? Tails had attacked him before and he had taken it better. Why did it seem like he was getting weaker? It made no sense logically.

"T- Tails... He..." Sonic stumbled uselessly over his words, unable to express in words what was freaking him out so much. It frustrated Metal Sonic so much; why couldn't Sonic just explain what had happened to him?

Tails let his arms fall back to his side, continuing to stare at Sonic blankly. His grin vanished, leaving his face so utterly blank and hollow...

"He believes he is Esplouge right now," Metal Sonic more stated than asked. "Am I right?"

Sonic nodded, seeming surprised at first that Metal Sonic was even there.

"Did he attack you because Esplouge is supposed to hate you?" Metal Sonic asked.

Sonic shook his head.

"He... He attack- attacked me be-because... be-because he thought I was _Tails_..." Sonic stuttered, his voice shaking almost as badly as his body.

Metal Sonic was confused by this.

"Would he not attack Tails the same as he would everyone else?" Metal Sonic asked. "If anything, I would think he would go easier on you if he thought that way."

Sonic's eyes were back on Tails.

"What... T- Tails, what on earth did Esplouge do to you?" Sonic asked. "What... Tails, what did he...?"

Tails began to struggle against Metal Sonic again.

"_Let me go!_" Tails screamed, sounding panicked. "_Oh my god, let me go!_"

Metal Sonic looked to his fleshy counterpart, wondering what to do. Was Tails just faking it? Was he going to attack Sonic again if Metal Sonic let him go? Sonic's horrified expression hadn't wavered, leaving Metal Sonic at a loss for what to do.

"_Sonic, I'm scared!_" Tails screamed. "_Sonic, I'm so scared!_"

Metal Sonic reluctantly let go of Tails, hoping that if Tails at least knew who Sonic was again, his mind was returning to a more stable place. Tails immediately ran to Sonic and clung to him like a frightened child. Sonic didn't seem to know what to do for a moment before finally deciding to wrap his arms around Tails, which oddly made Tails pull away from him. Tails was shaking and looked absolutely terrified.

"S- Sonic, I'm scared..." Tails said weakly.

"Tails..."

"Sonic, what happened?" Metal Sonic asked again.

"Tails, he can't hurt you anymore," Sonic said, ignoring his robot counterpart in favor of his friend. "You know that, right? Esplouge can't... He can't hurt you anymore."

Tails just stared at Sonic, uncomprehending and terrified.

"You understand that, don't you?" Sonic asked. "Esplouge... He can't hurt you anymore. He... Whatever he did to you... It's not gonna happen anymore."

Tails shook his head.

"Tails..."

"It... It doesn't stop, Sonic," Tails said quietly. "It never stops."

"What...?"

"Ev- even if he's dead... it'll never stop," Tails said.

"Sonic, what are you and Tails talking about?" Metal Sonic asked. "What happened?"

"Tails... Tails, what are you talking about?" Sonic asked. "He can't hurt you anymore, you _know_ that."

"B- but..."

Metal Sonic continued to listen to them, but he gave up on asking them about whatever it was that had happened. After all, asking was clearly getting him nowhere, and maybe he could come to a conclusion through listening to them. At the very least, it would be more effective than asking a question he knew wasn't going to be answered.

"Tails, what did he do to you?" Sonic asked again. "Why won't you tell me?"

"I... I don't... I d-don't want t-t-to..."

Tails' mind wandered back to all the horrible things Esplouge had done to him, playing memory after memory of all the horrible things he had gone through, and it made him feel sick. Image after image entered his mind, reminding him of all the horrible, sadistic things that had happened to him what must have been at least a year and a half ago by now, if not a little longer. It was strange to think he had only known Esplouge for so short a time, yet the darker fox's influence on him was still so strong.

He still continued to think about Esplouge, sometimes about bringing him back, sometimes about how scared he still was of him...

And sometimes about _being_ him. Sometimes, Tails' mind would go so far into his memory, that he would forget who he was, essentially replacing himself with Esplouge.

And, Tails realized, in a way, that kept Esplouge alive. Esplouge's influence over his memory was keeping the darker fox alive. By this point, it was becoming uncontrolable, so much so that Tails was beginning to fear if he would lose himself entirely in favor of reviving Esplouge.

And, of course, even if that wasn't the case, the things Esplouge had done to him would forever remain in his memory, like scars that could never go away no matter how much he tried to erase them.

"Tails, whatever Esplouge... whatever he did to you, it's not gonna happen anymore," Sonic said, trying to pull Tails back to reality. "I... I know you don't... don't wanna talk about it, and I get that, and I'm probably... probably just jumping to conclusions an-anyway... But... but it isn't going to happen anymore. He's not gonna hurt you anymore, Tails."

Tails just clung to Sonic like a frightened child to a parent, saying nothing in response. Sonic pulled him into a gentle hug, trying not to frighten him again. Metal Sonic watched the two for a moment, trying to read the situation.

Tails had attacked Sonic. That much he understood. He had come back into the house, and Tails was trying to strangle Sonic. But something else had happened as well, although they weren't talking about it.

Something that would prompt Sonic to remind Tails that Esplouge couldn't hurt him anymore. Had Tails said something related to Esplouge's past attacks? Or had Tails done something to Sonic before trying to strangle him? It couldn't have been much; Metal Sonic was sure he had only taken a moment or two to clean up the glass before coming back up to meet them.

And then Metal Sonic noticed something else. A small trail of blood ran down Sonic's face starting at his lower lip, and the area around the new wound was swollen. That certainly hadn't been there a few minutes ago when the three of them were in Tails' workshop, so Metal Sonic could only conclude that it was a fresh wound, most likely caused by Tails. Had Tails punched him? That still wouldn't explain why Sonic was acting the way he was, though...

"Come on, Tails," Sonic said, standing up and offering Tails a hand. "Let's go make some cocoa or something."

Tails tried to smile as he took Sonic's hand and pulled himself up.

"Can we have lots of marshmallows in it?" Tails asked, his voice shaking a little despite sounding a little happier.

"Of course," Sonic said, forcing his own smile as well. "Just go into the kitchen and get the cocoa mix and the milk, and Metal and I will be there in a minute."

Tails nodded and headed slowly towards the kitchen, still seeming a bit shaken. Sonic waited for a moment before turning to Metal Sonic, a grim expression on his face.

"... Sorry for ignoring you," Sonic apologized quietly, "but I didn't really think Tails needed to hear it. So, what were you asking about?"

"What happened between you two while I was in there?" Metal Sonic asked. "I was only in Tails' workshop for a moment, what on earth even caused Tails to attack you?"

"I... I don't know," Sonic said. "He just attacked me."

Metal Sonic had a feeling he wasn't hearing the whole story.

"What happened to your lip?" Metal Sonic asked. "It was not bleeding a minute ago. Did Tails hit you?"

Sonic's eyes dropped to the floor. He looked distressed for some reason.

"N- not exactly..." Sonic said dodgily.

"Then why is your lip bleeding?" Metal Sonic asked.

"He... He bit me," Sonic said, seeming shocked about it himself.

Metal Sonic just stared at his fleshy counterpart, confused. Why on earth would Tails do that? It seemed pretty random; even if he had thought he was Esplouge, it didn't make sense for him to bite anyone unless he was restrained and couldn't punch or kick them.

"... Look, I don't expect you to understand where I'm going with this," Sonic said flatly, pulling Metal Sonic from his thoughts. "It... It's not really something I'd expect a robot to get. Tails and I are going to have some cocoa. You can just chill or something."

Metal Sonic watched his fleshy counterpart head into the kitchen to be with Tails. He waited there for a moment before walking off.

* * *

Tails sat almost lifelessly at the table, his mind going to places Sonic wasn't brave enough to ask about. Sonic watched his friend carefully, making sure that Tails didn't get scared or angry, while he heated up the milk to make the cocoa.

It scared him to think of where Tails' mind was going. Of what kinds of horrible things Esplouge did to him. By now, it was beginning to seem like the beatings weren't the worst of it, and that just made Sonic sick to think about. After all, if Tails' response to thinking he was Esplouge and that Sonic was Tails was to lick his ear and bite his lip...

Just what had Esplouge done to him?

"Sonic?" Tails asked flatly, jarring the hedgehog from his thoughts. "The milk's starting to boil over."

Sonic startled, quickly turning the stove off and taking the pot of milk off. The last thing he was in the mood for was to make a mess. In moments, the cocoa was made and Sonic sat at the table with Tails, setting a large mug of cocoa in front of him. Tails grabbed the mug and stared at the cocoa flatly.

"What's up?" Sonic asked, trying to sound cheerful. "I thought you were looking forward to it."

Tails was silent for a moment.

"... I'm sorry," Tails said quietly.

"What for?" Sonic asked carefully, hoping Tails' mind wasn't wandering to whatever dark place it usually seemed to be.

"For... um... for worrying you," Tails said. "And for attacking you."

"You remember attacking me?" Sonic asked, surprised that Tails could remember anything from his "episodes."

Tails shook his head.

"No. I remember taking a nap in my plane and then... And then Metal Sonic was holding me and you looked so scared. And you have a cut on your lip now. Did I do that, too?"

Sonic decided against telling Tails exactly how he got that cut.

"You went back to thinking you were Esplouge," Sonic explained, figuring that at the very least, this needed to be addressed. "And you called me Tails."

Tails' eyes snapped up to meet Sonic's, and the fox's expression suggested that he had just seen a malicious ghost. Something in the fox's eyes told Sonic that his friend had a very good idea of what had happened.

"When... when I said that... W-was I standing be-behind you, or...?" Tails asked, his voice shaking. He cut himself off, figuring from the expression on Sonic's face what the answer was. "... Oh my god..."

"Tails... I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but... What exactly did Esplouge do to you?"

Tails was silent and took a drink of his cocoa as an excuse not to talk.

"He didn't... Please say he didn't touch you," Sonic said, desperation creeping into his voice. "Can you at least say that to me?"

Tails looked back to Sonic, his expression unreadable.

"He... He didn't..." Tails said weakly. "Not like _that_ anyway... He wasn't _that_ sick..."

Sonic didn't look entirely convinced, although he hoped that Tails was telling the truth.

"What did you mean when you said that it would never stop?" Sonic asked, hoping he wasn't pushing things too far.

Tails took another drink of his cocoa.

"You know Esplouge is... isn't here anymore, right?" Sonic asked. "He can't... He can't do those things to you anymore."

"It's not like I can just forget about it," Tails said flatly, staring at his mug of cocoa. "I... I mean, even though he's... gone... I still remember what he did to me. I'm always going to remember it."

"But..."

"Can we talk about something else, please?" Tails asked. "I mean... I don't want to remember. Talking about it is only going to keep it fresh in my mind."

"Tails, you licked my ear and bit my lip just a few minutes ago," Sonic pointed out. "It was on your mind then, wasn't it? Whatever Esplouge did to you is on your mind, whether you want it to be or not."

Tails was silent, which frustrated Sonic to no end. Why couldn't Tails just talk to him about it? They were best friends, they were supposed to be able to talk to each other about anything. So why wouldn't Tails talk to him about this one thing?

"Tails, I don't know what to do," Sonic continued. "I don't know how to make things better for you. Treating it like everything's normal obviously isn't working, and I'm running out of ideas for things to do. I don't know how to help you get over what happened to you."

"'Get over'?" Tails echoed hollowly. "You just don't fucking get it, do you?"

Sonic braced himself, expecting Tails to attack him again. The blue hero was both shocked and relieved when the worst Tails did was glare at him.

"It's not something I can just 'get over'," Tails said angrily. "You have no fucking idea what Esplouge did to me..."

"That's because you won't tell me!" Sonic argued. "How do you expect me to understand what happened to you if I have no way of knowing what the hell happened to you? Are you expecting me to be able to read your mind? I have news for you, Tails, I'm not a mind-reader, and I only have a vague clue at best of the kinds of things Esplouge must have done to you besides the beatings. So I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, but I don't know what else to say."

Tails was silent, still glaring.

"_Cope_, would that be a better word?" Sonic asked. "You can't get over what happened to you, but can you learn to cope with it? Because even if you don't think you can, I'll try to help you. I'll do everything I can to help you get through this."

Sonic was shocked when he noticed tears welling up in Tails' eyes.

"Tails...?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Tails asked. "I... I'm getting so angry at you... And you're still trying to help me..."

"Of course I am, Tails," Sonic said, calming down. "You're my best friend, my little bro, I'll be there for you no matter what happens. You know that."

Tails remained silent, staring deeply into his mug of cocoa as though deep in thought. Sonic decided they were done talking for now and got started on his own mug, downing his cocoa about as fast as he liked to do pretty much everything else. Tails would take a sip of his own every now and then, but for the most part, just seemed to be in deep thought.

And, Sonic thought, that was alright. They had said what they needed to say for now, and it was perfectly fine if Tails wanted to enjoy a quiet moment to gather up his thoughts.


	21. Memories

Metal Sonic was standing outside of the kitchen, just out of view of Sonic and Tails. He had initially been looking for Esplouge's body, but hearing Sonic yell had worried him; he certainly wasn't going to let Tails attack Sonic again if he could help it. When he came to investigate, though, everything seemed alright. Strained, but alright. So he went back to thinking about finding Esplouge's body.

Where had Tails hidden it?

He was sure Sonic had mentioned something about it before. He had mentioned a closet, that Esplouge's body was stuffed somewhere in a closet. But which one? Sonic hadn't been specific about which one it was stuffed in, at least not that he could recall.

Of course, considering the circumstances, it wasn't too surprising to the robot that he couldn't quite remember. Between all the chaos Shadow had put him through, and then running into Sonic, who had his own set of problems to deal with, Metal Sonic was sure that if his mind hadn't been artificial, he would have snapped a long time ago. Everything was beginning to become too much to deal with, as though his artificial body were severely in need of repairs.

But with his master gone, who else was there to repair him when needed? He certainly couldn't trust Tails to do it, even if the fox was likely the only one capable of doing such a thing. Tails' entire personality seemed to do a complete flip at completely random times, and the last thing Metal Sonic needed was to be repaired by someone like that. Tails could just as easily destroy him as he could repair.

Metal Sonic's mind wandered back to the bits and pieces of Sonic and Tails' conversation that he had picked up on, trying to put together exactly what was going on between the two of them. He got that Tails had licked and bit Sonic, his mind having gone to wherever it usually went when he started acting like Esplouge, although why would he have done that?

Tails had believed that he was Esplouge and that Sonic was Tails. The belief of those roles being filled had prompted Tails to act in such a way, although from what Metal Sonic knew about Esplouge, that made no sense. Why would Esplouge have bitten Tails? It would have made more sense if Tails had just punched Sonic, but biting...

So he had to look at the situation another way. If he altered the way he thought about it, maybe it would make coming to a conclusion easier. Instead of focusing on why Tails would bite him, maybe he'd focus on why Tails was that physically close to him in the first place. After all, Esplouge liked to fight; it was surprising for him to do something more passive, such as licking, when he just as easily could have punched or slashed his target.

Of course, Esplouge had appeared to feel affection for Tails, even if it was warped. In a way, it made sense that Esplouge would act so passively towards Tails; somewhere in that sick little mind, he had truly cared for the smaller fox.

Even with that realization, Metal Sonic still didn't understand the lick. What did licking represent to organic creatures? Affection, that much he understood. But there had to be something else, something stronger than mere affection to rile Sonic up as much as it did...

Love? Love was stronger than affection, although to call what Esplouge felt toward Tails by that word just felt wrong. Esplouge had been corrupted since the moment he first gained a conscious mind, he could never truly feel love or affection for anyone. All of his emotions had been warped into some sort of darkness...

So what was a dark version of love? Obsession? Had Esplouge been obsessed with Tails? That certainly made sense, although to what extent had Esplouge been obsessed...?

Enough to invade the smaller fox's personal space. Enough to show him false displays of affection.

Enough to claim Tails as his own. During the course of Esplouge's life, Metal Sonic could recall numerous times when Esplouge had claimed Tails as his own, as though the smaller fox were a mere possession. He had kept Tails locked up and hidden, although how much of that had really been out of simply using the smaller fox as a hostage...?

So Esplouge had believed in some way that Tails belonged to him. He had been obsessed. But what did obsession do to organic creatures?

What did affection do to organic creatures? From what Metal Sonic had gathered, affection was shown through hugging and kissing. Feelings further than that were shown with fulfilling the biological need to pass on one's genetics. Had Esplouge felt a warped version of this towards Tails?

Metal Sonic's mind returned to the world around him, unwilling to go further than that in his thoughts. He believed he had gotten close to what Sonic had been thinking, and just like his organic counterpart, he found that he didn't want to think about it.

So instead, he focused on the door in front of him. At some point while thinking, he had started walking around, and now found himself at the door to Tails' room. Figuring that Tails and Sonic were still in the kitchen, Metal Sonic made himself enter the room, if only to see if he could find Esplouge's body.

He just couldn't shake the feeling that everything would make sense once he saw the body.

Tails' room was dark. The curtains were closed, blocking out most of the sunlight, which honestly didn't bother the robot at all. It was easy enough for him to see in the dark. He headed toward Tails' closet, ready to see if Esplouge's body was there, disappointed when he opened the door and saw nothing.

So Esplouge's body had been somewhere else. Some other closet in the house; Metal Sonic could clearly remember Sonic mentioning he had found it in a closet. It clearly wasn't in Tails' room, which left the closet under the stairs and the closet in the guest room as the only remaining possibilities.

_... Now that I think about it, I believe I remember Sonic mentioning it had been in the guest room..._

Metal Sonic closed the door to Tails' closet, figuring he should get out of Tails' room quickly, before the fox had a chance to see him.

When he turned around, he saw Tails standing in the doorway, appearing suspicious, and he found that this didn't surprise him. It almost made sense that Tails had found him, had somehow known he was going to be there.

At least things were starting to feel more predictable.

"What are you doing in my room?" Tails asked.

"I was looking for you," Metal Sonic lied, already having a plan in mind. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Liar," Tails accused, sounding angry. "You knew Sonic and I were in the kitchen. Why would you have come here to look for me?"

"I wanted to talk to you alone," Metal Sonic said. "I thought you would come here after you and Sonic were finished in the kitchen, so I came here to wait for you."

Tails still appeared distrusting, but seemed to ease up a little.

"Okay, then," Tails said. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Metal Sonic silently thanked his late master for programming him with the ability to lie.

"You seem like you need someone to talk to," Metal Sonic said. "Specifically, about the things that Esplouge did to you while you were his hostage. You are scared to talk to Sonic about it, are you not?"

"What do you mean by that?" Tails asked. "Sonic knows about..."

"Yes, but you withhold things from him," Metal Sonic said. "You are scared that if he knows about everything, he will think differently of you."

Metal Sonic noted the flicker of emotion that went through Tails' eyes, although he couldn't tell just what that emotion was.

"I am right," Metal Sonic more stated than asked. "Sonic is your friend, and you do not wish for him to start treating you differently. You worry that that may happen if he knows about everything that happened to you. I, on the other hand, am someone you are not as fond of, as well as someone you can kick out of your house at any time if you so choose."

Tails appeared suspicious of this.

"I am also ruled purely by logic rather than emotion," Metal Sonic continued. "No matter what Esplouge did to you or made you do, I will not think any more or less of you than I do right now."

"You're just going to go tell Sonic everything," Tails said. "So if I tell you, I might as well tell him."

"I will not tell Sonic anything that you tell me if you do not wish for me to," Metal Sonic said. "You have my word."

"I have your word as one of Eggman's robots," Tails said. "Somehow, I don't find that quite as comforting as you might wish I did. Now get the hell out of my room."

Metal Sonic gave up and started to leave without another word, stopping when Tails spoke up again. When Tails spoke, his voice sounded so much weaker than it had before.

"When he first kidnapped me, I tried to call Sonic on my cell phone," Tails said. "He knew I was going to do it... He knew that if he left my cell phone with me, I was going to try to call Sonic with it. But... But then he t-took it from me and put it on speaker s-so that both of us could hear Sonic and vice versa... S- Sonic can tell you what happened next. I- I'm sure he remembers..."

Metal Sonic was listening to Tails intently, gladly using this opportunity to gather as much data about both Tails and Esplouge as he could.

"Th- this other time... H- he kidnapped a little girl and brought her t-to where he had me..." Tails continued, feeling horrified just from remembering. "Sh- she looked like she w-was a little y-younger than me... And she was so scared, sh-she was so scared of him... A-and he made me t-tell her that everything was go-going to be okay... S-so I did..."

Metal Sonic could clearly see how much trouble this was for Tails to even say, much less remember. As much as he wanted the information, he didn't want to force Tails to talk about something that was obviously so hard for him to say.

He needed to try to get Tails to become more comfortable with talking about it first.

"Tails, you can stop if you..."

"... A-and he just killed her," Tails said, ignoring the robot entirely. "H-he made me tell her it was all going to be okay, and then he killed her. Sh-she was just a little girl... A-and he just... just tore her body apart l-like it was nothing... And he... And he..."

"Tails, if you need to stop..." Metal Sonic said, only to be interrupted again.

"... And he r-rubbed her bl-blood all over me... M- my chest, my st-stomach, arms, l-legs... He covered me with her blood... And do you want to know what he did next? Do you want to know what he did next, M-Metal Sonic?"

"... Only if you are comfortable with telling me," the robot answered.

"He licked the blood off," Tails said. "Right off my chest... I... I'm not even sure if that's the first time he licked me... H-he licked me a lot... U-usually my ear or neck..."

Tails visibly shuddered, the memory fresh in his mind. He could still feel Esplouge's tongue tracing up his neck slowly, feeling Esplouge's sick joy contrasting with his sheer terror.

"H-he scared me so much..." Tails said, trying to hold back tears that threatened to overflow at any moment. "H-he still scares me so much..."

"Tails, he can not hurt you anymore," Metal Sonic said, trying to sound comforting. "You understand that, do you not? As much as you are still afraid and hurt from what he did to you, he can no longer continue to..."

"And... and there was this other time," Tails interrupted. "He... He got mad at me. He got really mad at me, be-because I tried to escape from him. S-so he hit me. R-really hard. A-and I hadn't... hadn't been expecting it, s-so I accidentally bit my lip."

_Is that why he bit Sonic?_ Metal Sonic wondered. _Was he remembering this? Or was he remembering something else?_

"... And... And Esplouge got so worried," Tails continued. "He... He got so worried. I didn't understand it at first, b-but... But he... He didn't understand... that b-bleeding doesn't mean you're going to die... H-he thought I was going to die... A-and he got s-so worried, he s-screamed at me not to die... Th-that was the first time... th-the very first time he got scared for me... Th-the first time he was ever nice to me..."

Metal Sonic was unsure how to respond to this. Esplouge had been obsessed with Tails, of course he would show concern whenever his torture went too far. But it couldn't have always been like that, Esplouge couldn't have always been obsessed with Tails. Not at first. At first, Esplouge had cared about nothing, had gone so far as to try to destroy himself as well as his creator just from... what? How the chaos emerald affected his mind? He certainly couldn't have cared about Tails then, and even after that, Amy had been his initial target, not Tails.

So Esplouge's obsession had come some time after that, that much was obvious. The question was, how long after that had the obsession begun? What had happened between the two foxes to spark Esplouge's obsession?

Moreover, what had happened between the two to start whatever it was that Tails felt for Esplouge? What Tails had just said was possibly it, the start of it all.

Because Esplouge had shown concern that, even if it hadn't been genuine, was something that Tails could cling to, a hope that could keep Tails from succumbing to the insanity that had so suddenly surrounded him.

The hope that his captor had had a gentler, kinder side to him. The hope that the situation he was in could get better, even though it had been nearly hopeless.

In a sick way, everything was starting to make more and more sense as a result of it. This new information made everything fall into place, helping Metal Sonic figure out just what had gone on between the two foxes, at least from Tails' point of view.

Every time Esplouge had shown him an ounce of kindness, Tails had clung to that, temporarily forgetting about the situation he was in. He had begun to see another side to his captor, had begun to see Esplouge as more than merely insane. He had experienced kindness from Esplouge, and even if that kindness had just been a further extent of Esplouge's already unstable mind, Tails had interpreted it as genuine.

Metal Sonic still couldn't quite pin what had caused Esplouge to become so obsessed with Tails, but he was sure he was right about what Tails felt toward Esplouge.

"Tails, are you going to be okay?" Metal Sonic asked, noticing that Tails had finally given in and tears were flowing down his cheeks. "You do not have to continue thinking about what happened to you if you do not wish to."

"I... I just want him to be h-happy," Tails said quietly. "E-even now... I st-still want him to be happy..."

"Tails, I believe it would be wise for you to come downstairs and stay with Sonic and I," Metal Sonic said. "I do not think it would be wise for you to stay by yourself right now."

"Y-yeah..." Tails said, wiping away some tears with the back of his hand. "I... I agree. You go down to Sonic; I'll be there in a minute."

Tails went toward his bathroom, leaving no room for objections, and even though it was against Metal Sonic's better judgement, he left Tails alone and exited the room.

Sonic was waiting just out of view of the door, looking absolutely mortified.

"... I had a feeling you would be here," Metal Sonic said after a short pause. "How much did you hear?"

"... All of it," Sonic said, still seeming horrified. "He... Why wouldn't he tell me about that stuff? It's no wonder he's so freaked out now, considering, but why didn't he...?"

"I do not understand his motives entirely," Metal Sonic explained. "I believe he would not tell you because he was afraid of how you would react."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Sonic argued. "What on earth is there to be afraid of? I'm his best friend, I look after him!"

"... That may be the problem," Metal Sonic explained, pausing for a moment in the hopes that it would calm Sonic down. "You heard the last thing he said, correct? Esplouge had shown concern for him, likely on numerous occasions. Tails honestly believes that Esplouge cared about him, even though he also understands that Esplouge was insane."

"... And how, exactly, would that make him afraid of how I would react?" Sonic asked impatiently.

"Unless I am mistaken, Tails genuinely cares about Esplouge," Metal Sonic explained. "He tried very hard while Esplouge was still alive to help him make amends, to try to help him essentially fit in with you and his other friends. He wanted you to see Esplouge the way he saw him. To explain to you what Esplouge did to him would have been counterproductive."

"But what about when we all thought Esplouge was dead?" Sonic asked. "Why not now that we know for sure that little bastard's dead?"

"... At first, it may have just been too soon," Metal Sonic explained. "He had been kidnapped and tortured, after all; it was traumatic for him, and people are rarely ready to talk at all about traumatic experiences that soon after they happen. Over time... I may be mistaken, but I believe he still wishes for you to view Esplouge the way he does. To tell you the things Esplouge did to him..."

"I know, I know, it'd be 'counterproductive'," Sonic said, feeling frustrated. "So, what the hell do we do with him now? I can't exaclty tell him I heard that little conversation of yours..."

"We have to take things one day at a time," Metal Sonic explained. "Getting him to open up to you should be our first priority, aside from making sure he does not attack us or anyone else. If we can get Tails to talk openly about what happened to him, that would be a helpful start."

"... I guess..." Sonic reluctantly agreed.

"Tails will be suspicious if he leaves his room and we are both right here," Metal Sonic explained suddenly. "Shall we take this conversation downstairs?"

* * *

Tails stared at himself in the mirror, his tears finally having ceased.

Why had he opened up to Metal Sonic like that? Why had he told Metal Sonic some of the things he was too afraid to tell his own best friend? He felt horrible as a result, as though he couldn't even trust his own best friend.

But he _could_ trust Sonic. Sonic was always there for him, had always been there for him when he needed it...

"Except for when Esplouge kidnapped me," Tails told himself quietly, leaning on the counter so his face could be closer to its reflection. "Sonic wasn't there for me then. Not even the second time, even when I told him that Esplouge was back, he still let me go outside all on my own. Esplouge would have never let me do that if..."

If what? If their roles had been reversed? If Sonic had been the kidnapper and Esplouge had been the friend, how differently would things have gone?

Esplouge certainly would have been with him if there was any concern that someone would go near him. Esplouge never would have left Tails alone to get kidnapped.

Esplouge was too overprotective for that.

It was so much easier to just blame Sonic than to blame Esplouge.

Except it wasn't Sonic's fault, and somewhere inside, Tails was fully aware of that.

But then again, Tails was somewhere inside. Somewhere shut away, to relive the horrors he had gone through again and again, while Esplouge was free to do as he pleased.

Tails smirked, amused by how easy it had been to fool Metal Sonic.

"That stupid robot has no idea," Tails said to himself. "_Sonic_ has no idea who he's dealing with anymore."

Tails touched his reflection as though trying to caress its cheek.

"Tails, sweetheart, thank you so much for letting me use your body," Tails said. "I'll repay your kindness... You can have my body after I trick Metal Sonic into helping me reanimate it. Then everything can be as it should be, and I can do whatever I want to you. If you're in _my_ body, you can't die, so I can do more to you than I ever did before. My dear, sweet, little Miles..."

* * *

A/N: Wow, this chapter ends with such a mood-killer. The next chapter is already about halfway finished (I really love it, so far), so the next update should happen within the next week or two.


	22. Manipulation

Sonic sat on the couch in the front room, still feeling shocked from what Tails had told Metal Sonic about the things Esplouge used to do to him. It was no wonder Tails was so... What was the word for it? Sonic didn't want to think of Tails as being insane, but it was becoming less and less easy to defend Tails from that label.

At the very least, Sonic could still admit to himself that there was certainly something wrong with his friend. There was certainly something wrong in Tails' mind; there was just no denying it. Someone sound of mind wouldn't keep the body of someone who had died with plans to reanimate it. Someone sound of mind wouldn't start thinking off and on that they were the dead person who's body they had kept.

And as for the things that Tails had just told Metal Sonic...

"What do you think we should do?" Metal Sonic asked, jarring the hedgehog from his thoughts. Sonic startled and stared at Metal Sonic, confused, so the robot repeated himself. "What do you think we should do about Tails, Sonic?"

"I... I don't know," Sonic said absently, his gaze falling back to the floor. "We can't tell him I heard all of it. And it's not like he's going to get better just by talking about it anyway..."

"That is not necessarily true," Metal Sonic objected calmly. "How do you think therapy is supposed to work? Some people can sort out their problems by just talking about them with someone, although I doubt you would want Tails to be in a room alone with someone other than you..."

"Or you," Sonic added. "I... I trust _you_, and... well, if you're alone with Tails and he... freaks out... I think you could defend yourself a lot better than I could at this point."

"What makes you say that?" Metal Sonic asked.

"Well... You're not as attached to him as I am," Sonic explained. "Seeing him act like that doesn't... Doesn't freak you out like it does to me. I get so freaked out when I see Tails acting like that..."

"You get scared," Metal Sonic more stated than asked. "It scares you to see Tails acting in such a way. You are afraid to defend yourself, because you still do not wish to hurt him."

"R-right..."

"So what do you think we should do?" Metal Sonic asked. "If you are not willing to force him to talk to a therapist or go to an institution, what should we do to help him?"

"I... I don't know," Sonic said. "I don't know what to do..."

Metal Sonic stood in front of Sonic, prompting the hedgehog to look up at his robot counterpart.

"Sonic, what you need to focus on is getting Tails the help he needs," the robot explained. "You care too much about him. There is no way Tails is going to get better if you and I are the only people he is interacting with."

Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but realized he had no idea what to say. Metal Sonic had had a point; after all, Tails obviously wasn't getting better. But what else could they do for him? Sending Tails to a therapist - or worse, to an institution - just seemed like too much. There had to be something less drastic they could do for Tails that would work just as well...

Sonic looked back up to talk to Metal Sonic, and saw that the robot was gone.

* * *

Metal Sonic had slipped away while Sonic was thinking. He was still determined to find Esplouge's body, and now he was pretty sure he remembered where Sonic had said it was.

It had to be in the guest room, the room Sonic usually occupied.

So Metal Sonic found himself in that room, in front of the door to the closet. He knew that in moments, he would see Esplouge again, and that thought almost scared him. It was terrifying to even think of that lunatic still being around in some form, and to see his body again...

Metal Sonic reached out and opened the door, unsurprised when Esplouge's body tumbled out just as he had been expecting. He stared down at what remained of the lunatic that had killed his master, glad he couldn't truly feel emotion, knowing that if he could, he would probably be furious.

Just seeing Esplouge's body would have made him furious if he could feel emotion.

"So, this is it," Metal Sonic said. "This is what remains of my master's failed attempt at recreating the ultimate life form. Nothing more than a dead little boy, unable to do harm to anyone ever again."

Metal Sonic rolled Esplouge's body over with his foot.

"This is what remains of you, Project Esplouge. A shell, unable to think or speak or hear ever again. No longer able to cause harm to the innocent..."

"Not quite."

Tails' voice. Although something about his voice just sounded wrong.

Metal Sonic turned around and saw Tails standing in the doorway just as he had minutes ago when Metal Sonic had tried the closet in his room. Except this time, something in Tails' eyes just looked _wrong_.

"Esplouge can still cause harm to anyone he damn well pleases," Tails said. "He just has to be more... _creative_ about it..."

"Tails, you are sick," Metal Sonic said. "You... All of this is sick. You need help."

"Help?" Tails echoed, an empty grin on his face. "No... I'm so far beyond that now. When Esplouge first kidnapped me, I needed help. When I had to watch him rip apart that little girl, I needed help. When he beat me and beat me, when he licked my wounds out of some perverse joy he got from the taste of my blood, when he threatened my friends, when he threatened to kill me, I needed help."

Tails' expression grew almost sad for a moment, although Metal Sonic wasn't readily sure why.

"When he killed Amy... I think that was it," Tails said. "The final straw, the last thing I could handle. That on top of everything else he put me through... You should be shocked I didn't snap earlier than I did."

"Tails, you are not this insane," Metal Sonic objected. "You are not Esplouge, and you know it."

Tails smirked.

"You're right... I know I'm not Esplouge," Tails said. "I'm constantly aware of that fact, I know exactly who I am _all the time_. I know that I'm Tails."

"Why do you pretend to think you are Esplouge?" Metal Sonic asked. "What is the point of doing such a thing?"

"Point?" Tails asked, sounding amused. "What do you mean? There is no point for why I do it; I just do."

"There has to be a reason," Metal Sonic objected. "There is a reason behind everything that people do."

"Oh, there is?" Tails asked. "So tell me, what was your master's reason for trying to take over the world? Didn't have one, did he?"

"Leave my master out of this," Metal Sonic said. "I know you are only trying to distract me from the subject at hand."

"My, you think you know _everything_, don't you?" Tails asked. "So tell me, then, if you know everything, do you know what I'm going to do to _you_?"

Metal Sonic was silent, confused, and prepared for an attack. Tails merely smirked.

"You have no idea, do you?" Tails asked. "You have no idea what I'm planning, do you?"

"You are planning to bring Esplouge back to life," Metal Sonic said.

"That's part of it..." Tails said. "You don't know the rest of it, though, do you? I can tell by your reaction that you don't..."

"What are you planning, then?" Metal Sonic asked. "I would think bringing Esplouge back to life would be enough for you."

"I'm so far beyond that point," Tails said. "Nothing will ever be enough for me anymore. Even if I got everything I wanted, even if I could bring the dead back to life and turn back time, nothing would ever be enough for me. Nothing at all..."

Something about the way Tails said that almost disturbed Metal Sonic.

_He is starting to sound suicidal..._

"What were you hoping to accomplish by finding Esplouge's body, anyway?" Tails asked. "Were you just going to stand here waiting for me or Sonic to come by, or were you actually going to do something interesting? Why did you want to find Esplouge's body so badly? Something must have compelled you to look for Esplouge's body, am I right?"

"Why do you want to bring Esplouge back to life?" Metal Sonic shot back, refusing to play Tails' game. "You have to understand that he will only try to hurt you again."

Tails' expression grew flat all of a sudden.

"I think I know where your master went wrong," Tails explained quietly. "If I can avoid doing what he did wrong, I can make Esplouge more stable..."

"Then what?" Metal Sonic asked. "What would you do with Esplouge alive and sane, if you yourself are the way you are now?"

"'The way I am now'?" Tails echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean," Metal Sonic explained. "You are insane, and you are fully aware of it. You are almost as bad as Esplouge was before..."

"'Almost'?" Tails asked. "Huh... I must not be trying hard enough..."

Tails smirked, although something about his expression remained empty.

"Why do you want to bring him back, then?" Metal Sonic asked. "It does not make any sense, why would you want to bring Esplouge back if you can no longer accomplish your original goal of having him be peaceful?"

"Goals change," Tails said simply. "Desires and hopes change like the tides. Yes, it's true that I originally wanted him to be happy and peaceful, but I have a new goal as far as he's concerned now..."

"And what is that goal?" Metal Sonic asked.

"... I think I've told you too much already," Tails said. "After all, I can't have you knowing this information if you're just going to go out there and tell Sonic all of it. If Sonic knows, I'll have to kill him. I'm going to have to kill him at some point anyway, but I'm not ready to yet. He's still my best friend, after all."

"You are honestly thinking about killing Sonic?" Metal Sonic asked, as close to feeling shock as he was capable of. "Why would you do that? Sonic cares about you so much, he would do anything at all to help you if you needed him. He is innocent in all of this."

"Yes, he is innocent," Tails agreed. "But if he tries to stop me, I'm going to kill him. If he tries to hurt Esplouge, I'll have to kill him. If he tries to convince me that I need help, I'll kill him. If he tries to stop me from... _expressing _just how I feel to Esplouge..."

"What do you mean by that?" Metal Sonic asked.

"... I'll kill him," Tails continued, ignoring Metal Sonic entirely. "If he tries to protect Esplouge from me, I'll _fucking kill him_."

"Why would Sonic protect Esplouge from you?" Metal Sonic asked. "Just what exactly are you planning...?"

"You know, you look a lot like him," Tails said suddenly. "You look so much like Sonic. Except you don't have the same, stupid face that Sonic has..."

"Tails, what on earth are you planning?" Metal Sonic asked again.

"You're going to last so much longer than him, if I don't destroy you first," Tails said flatly. "I'm still debating whether or not I really need you. I think I could bring Esplouge back to life on my own, but it'll be so much faster if I have you to help me. After all, you were there, you had a hand in bringing him to life in the first place. You were the first thing he ever saw..."

"Why would I help you bring him back?" Metal Sonic asked.

Tails smirked.

"Because if you don't, I'll have to kill Sonic," Tails said smugly. "If you don't do everything I say from now on, I'll kill him. I'll kill everyone around me if I have to, before finally deactivating you. I'm a fucking genius, I hardly think one of Eggman's robots would be too difficult for me to deactivate. And even if you were, I could still kill everyone we know, and you can be all alone, just like me..."

"But you are not all alone," Metal Sonic objected. "You have me, and you have Sonic."

"I don't want you," Tails said. "And I don't want Sonic anymore. I don't want anything..."

_He is seriously starting to sound suicidal..._

"You want Esplouge, correct?" Metal Sonic asked. "You want to see him alive again. You want something."

"True..." Tails agreed thoughtfully. "But I don't think that bringing him back is necessarily going to fix things. Even if I can affect his memory, mine will still be the same."

"What do you mean?" Metal Sonic asked. "You wish to alter your memory?"

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Tails asked. "I went through _hell_. Esplouge put me through _hell_ when he kidnapped me. And then he had to go and fucking kill Amy..."

"You miss Amy a lot," Metal Sonic more stated than asked. "You have to understand that you are going to feel the same way if you kill Sonic like you say you are going to."

A flicker of emotion went through Tails' eyes, although Metal Sonic couldn't tell if it was sadness or anger.

Or was it happiness?

"Amy's dead," Tails said flatly. "Cream's dead. That little girl Esplouge killed for the sole purpose of traumatizing me is dead. Knuckles and Rouge don't give a damn about me and they never have..."

"That is not true," Metal Sonic objected. "I can not say I understand Rouge's motives, but Knuckles still cares about you. You know that."

"Oh, really?" Tails asked. "What the fuck has that idiot ever done for me?"

"You know exactly what he has done for you," Metal Sonic explained.

Tails glared.

"So what?" Tails asked. "He helped me out _once_, and even then, it was too little, too late."

"When Esplouge kidnapped you, all of them tried as hard as they could to find you," Metal Sonic explained. "You know that."

"_If they had tried so fucking hard, why was I there for so long?_" Tails shouted. "_If it had been one of Eggman's stupid flawed plans to take over the world, Sonic would have stopped it in a couple hours at most! How the fuck can you sit there and say that they even tried?_"

Tails took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Besides, you weren't even there," Tails continued. "So how can you say you even know? You didn't watch them while they were supposedly searching for me, you didn't see Sonic or Shadow fight Esplouge, you didn't see Esplouge hurt Amy..."

"This is the third time you have brought up Amy in this conversation," Metal Sonic pointed out. "You feel very strongly about her, do you not? How do you think Amy would feel if she saw you like this? If there were a Heaven and Hell, if there were an afterlife of some sort, and Amy could see you now, how do you think she would feel seeing you act like this?"

"I don't give a damn," Tails said angrily. "I don't care about 'what ifs,' I care about what's going on around me in the real world."

"No, you do not," Metal Sonic objected. "You brought Amy up multiple times during our conversation; someone who is dead. You can not forget the things that Esplouge did to you when you were his hostage; something that happened to you _years _ago. You focus on them. You focus on trying to bring Esplouge back to life, and at this point, I am very concerned about what your intentions might be."

"Oh, you are?" Tails asked. "So, what do you think my intentions are? Why do you think I want to bring Esplouge back to life?"

"I believe you want revenge," Metal Sonic stated simply.

Tails stared at Metal Sonic flatly for a moment before smirking.

"Maybe you're not as stupid as I think you are," Tails said darkly. "Yes, that is part of it..."

Tails looked down the hallway suddenly before looking back to Metal Sonic.

"Sonic is probably close to wondering where on earth we both are," Tails said. "If he comes looking and sees us here like this..."

Tails slipped a shard of glass out of his glove, much as Esplouge would have done had he still been alive.

"Put Esplouge's body back in the closet," Tails ordered. "_Now_."

"... Why would I do that?" Metal Sonic asked. "You could just as easily..."

"I could just as easily slash Sonic's throat if I so choose," Tails interrupted. "If he walks up and sees Esplouge's body, that's what's going to fucking happen. It's such a simple request; just put his body back in the closet. I can't have Sonic knowing about it just yet..."

Metal Sonic paused for a moment before picking up Esplouge's body and placing it back in the closet as Tails had ordered, deciding to focus on keeping Sonic safe until he had a chance to explain the situation to him.

It was going to be so hard to explain all of this to Sonic, to tell him his best friend was insane and just manipulating him. Would Sonic even believe such a thing?

"... I am not going to help you bring him back to life," Metal Sonic said. "I refuse to help you bring him back to life. Knowing your true motive certainly does not help my decision; as much as I hate Esplouge, I can not allow you to hurt him for the sake of causing pain to another. He is better off staying dead."

Tails smirked.

"You have no idea what I'm planning, _robot_," Tails said coldly, his voice reminding Metal Sonic of Esplouge, specifically when Esplouge forced him to kill his own master.

_Tails is too far gone now..._

Tails replaced the glass into his glove, appearing as though he had done the same action many times before.

"If you do what I say," Tails said, "if you don't tell Sonic what we just talked about, I'll let him live for now. It's your call, really. If you tell Sonic, no matter what, I'm going to find out."

"I will not tell Sonic," Metal Sonic said. "I do not wish for you to hurt him."

Tails smiled smugly.

"That's a good boy," Tails said, sounding every bit as smug as he looked. "Now get the fuck back out there and don't act suspicious. Sonic's probably wondering where the hell we are by now."

Metal Sonic walked passed Tails, eyeing the fox carefully in case he tried something, and headed back toward the front room, where Sonic was still waiting. Tails paused for a moment, looking thoughtfully to the closet where Esplouge's body was hidden before leaving the room himself and heading back out to Sonic and Metal Sonic.

Things were getting so much more interesting.

* * *

A/N: I absolutely _loved _writing Tails in this chapter, probably out of missing writing Esplouge so much. (Which reminds me, I really should get working on the prequel again sometime; I can already guarantee the first six chapters of the prequel are going to be posted on a regular basis by the time I get to posting it.) The next chapter is already started, so I should be able to post it within the next two or three weeks.


	23. Playing

Metal Sonic walked up to his organic counterpart, debating whether or not to tell him about everything Tails had just said. A part of him was suspicious that Tails had been bluffing, that there was no way Tails had the capacity to kill Sonic or anybody else, but Tails' unstable personality combined with some of the things Shadow had told him...

According to Shadow, Tails had gone out and murdered people the night Esplouge died. Metal Sonic had always assumed that Shadow had mistaken Tails walking up on a murder scene or something of the sort as such, but now, he wasn't so sure.

Had Tails really killed those people? And if so, why?

Sonic stared at his robotic counterpart for a moment before speaking up.

"Hey, where'd you run off to?"

Metal Sonic considered telling Sonic everything that had just happened, but decided against it. By now, his main priority was keeping Sonic safe, and if Tails heard him telling Sonic about their conversation...

Tails came up behind Metal Sonic and walked passed the robot, right up to Sonic. For a moment, Metal Sonic considered getting between them, worried that Tails was going to attack Sonic, but he calmed down when Tails merely sat down next to Sonic.

"... Are you okay, Tails?" Sonic asked awkwardly, his mind still on Tails and Metal Sonic's conversation from before, from Tails telling the robot about some of the things Esplouge used to do to him.

"Yeah..." Tails said weakly, sounding emotionally drained. Considering how strong he had sounded a moment ago, Metal Sonic concluded that Tails had become an incredibly good liar by this point, and that made the situation all the more concerning. "I'm fine, Sonic..."

Tails stared at Metal Sonic as though daring him to say something.

"I... I am going to step out for a while," Metal Sonic said finally, figuring that as long as he didn't stay out too long, he didn't need to worry too much. After all, as long as Sonic remained ignorant of the situation, Tails would keep him alive. Right?

"What?" Sonic asked, pleading. "Why?"

"I... Require some time to myself," Metal Sonic said simply, trying not to stare back at Tails. "I promise I will be back soon."

"... Okay," Sonic agreed.

Metal Sonic turned to leave, stopping dead in his tracks when he heard Tails speak up.

"You're not leaving us, are you?" Tails asked weakly, sounding as though he were on the verge of tears.

"Of course not, Tails," Sonic answered. "We can trust him. He's our friend, remember?"

Tails paused for a moment.

"Okay. If you say so," Tails said. "Please come back soon, Metal Sonic!"

It disgusted Metal Sonic how convincing Tails was. If he hadn't have had the prior conversation with Tails, he would honestly have believed Tails was still troubled and hurt, when in actuality, he now knew that Tails was completely insane.

Shadow had been right, in a way. Murder was a drastic measure to pursue, but he had certainly been right that Tails was insane.

* * *

Sonic and Tails sat together in silence for a few moments after Metal Sonic left, neither one fully sure of what to say now that they were alone. The silence felt so awkward, as though they both needed to talk, but were so unsure of what to say, and at least to Sonic, allowing it to drag on so long almost felt like torture.

He had to figure out how to get Tails to talk to him. He had to get Tails to tell him to his face what Esplouge used to do to him, he had to get Tails to talk about it and to finally start to cope with it.

Although considering what had happened to him, that would be a lot harder than it sounded.

"Sonic, can I ask you something?" Tails asked finally, staring that the ground as he spoke.

Sonic looked over at his friend curiously, sure that Tails' mind was back on the subject of the torture Esplouge had put him through. And if Tails was finally comfortable talking to him about the things Esplouge used to do to him, he felt he had to listen, even if it was hard for him to hear it.

He had to be there for his friend.

"S-sure," Sonic answered. "What is it?"

"... You heard me and Metal Sonic talking earlier, didn't you?" Tails asked quickly, his voice quiet and flat.

Sonic was shocked that Tails knew, but he decided to play it honestly. After all, if Tails couldn't even trust him to admit to hearing something he wasn't supposed to hear, how could he trust him at all?

"Y-yeah..." Sonic admitted, almost feeling guilty even though he had done nothing wrong. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tails looked to Sonic, seeming genuinely confused.

"... What are you talking about?" Tails asked.

"Well... I guess I already knew about some of the things Esplouge did to you," Sonic began awkwardly. "But why weren't you comfortable with telling me?"

_So Sonic doesn't know..._

Tails' eyes began to fill with the first genuine tears he had shed in a long time.

_I was just about to kill him for something he didn't even hear. I can keep him around for a little bit longer..._

"I... I didn't know how you'd react," Tails lied, hugging Sonic closely, burying his face in Sonic's chest. "I didn't want you to be mad at him."

Sonic hugged Tails back, trying his best to comfort his friend.

"It's okay, Tails," Sonic said. "He can't hurt you anymore. Esplouge can never do that to you again..."

Tails smirked behind Sonic's back.

That blue idiot really had no idea.

"I'm still so scared, Sonic," Tails said in the most convincingly weak voice he could muster. "I don't want you to ever leave my side."

"I won't, Tails," Sonic said. "I'll always be right here."

Tails smirked, remembering something Esplouge had told him what felt like forever ago.

_Did I ever tell you how I was going to kill you?_

_Did I tell you that I was going to cut you up and then rip out your heart?_

_And after that, after I cut out your heart, I'm going to keep it in a little jar so you can be with me wherever I go..._

"I'm so glad," Tails said finally, his voice losing all emotion. He slipped his hand into his opposite glove, absently reaching for his glass.

_I can't fucking wait to kill you, T- Sonic. Sonic, I can't wait to kill you, Sonic._

_I can't fucking wait to kill you..._

_It's too bad I need you alive for a little longer, otherwise I could just get it over with now..._

Tails pushed Sonic down onto his back suddenly, figuring that if he couldn't kill Sonic, he could at least mess with him. He could still pretend to think he was Esplouge, and pretend to think that Sonic was Tails while he was at it...

"Tails..."

Both of them said the name at the same time, Sonic out of fear, and Tails out of pure joy.

Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

* * *

Metal Sonic was at a loss for what to do. He figured that as long as Sonic remained ignorant of the situation, he would be safe, but how long would that safety last? Tails was clearly unstable, and by this point, his actions were becoming entirely unpredictable.

Just what on earth was Tails capable of by this point? And how had no one even had suspicions of this before? The only person who had seen this coming was...

Shadow. Shadow had known about Tails' instability since the night Esplouge died. Shadow had _known_ about it, had tried to warn everyone else about it, and how had everyone responded to him?

Everyone had just assumed that Shadow had snapped. And there was truth to that; Shadow's mind had begun to deteriorate as a result of his obsession with keeping Esplouge dead, and wanting to murder a young boy just to keep Esplouge dead seemed drastic, even with this new discovery Metal Sonic had made. It was still so drastic, the mere _thought_ of murdering Tails still seemed so drastic, although by this point, Metal Sonic found himself honestly considering that a possibility.

Shadow had been _right_.

_Just what on earth happened that night?_ Metal Sonic wondered.

Shadow had ranted and raved to him about it numerous times, but Metal Sonic hadn't been able to make himself believe anything the hedgehog had told him. It was just too crazy, the thought that Tails was capable of murder was just too crazy...

Although, from Metal Sonic's new discovery, _Tails_ was just too crazy. It was becoming increasingly easy to see the formerly sweet and mild fox doing something as irrational as murdering someone, and the fact that Tails had seemed to set his sights on Sonic to fill the role of his victim...

By this point, Sonic was the closest person Metal Sonic had to someone who was still sane. And now, more than ever, Sonic needed his help.

Metal Sonic found himself wandering, looking for Shadow at any place he could think of. Shadow preferred less populated areas, which was of growing concern. After all, Shadow was arguably as unstable as Tails, and Metal Sonic was growing increasingly concerned his body was in need of repairs. If Shadow attacked him, Metal Sonic was almost certain his body would no longer be able to handle it.

Metal Sonic suddenly found himself on the ground, the process having gone by too fast for him to notice. His body felt heavy, as though the gravity around him had suddenly increased, and it was impossible for him to get himself up again...

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here?"

Shadow. Of course.

"I am not here for conflict," Metal Sonic stated, trying to remain calm. "I am merely here to talk to you."

"You're on _their_ side, how the hell can you expect me to trust you?" Shadow asked harshly. "You're part of their stupid delusion..."

"You were right," Metal Sonic said, hoping the words would be enough to reach the part of Shadow that still retained an ounce of sanity.

"... What did you say?"

"You were right," Metal Sonic repeated. "About Tails. You were right, Shadow."

Shadow got off of Metal Sonic and rolled the robot onto his back. Metal Sonic debated whether or not to stand up, until Shadow's foot on his chest helped in his decision.

Shadow still didn't fully trust him. But he appeared to be listening, and that was a start.

"... You're not trying to trick me, are you?" Shadow asked.

"Of course not," Metal Sonic said. "Please let me stand up."

Shadow stomped hard on Metal Sonic's chest, sending a shock through the robot's system that almost made him black out entirely. Metal Sonic felt his body lock up for a moment, surprised he hadn't shut down altogether.

"... Still conscious?" Shadow asked.

"... Yes..." Metal Sonic answered weakly.

"So Tails hasn't been working on you..." Shadow mused thoughtfully. "I guess that's a good sign."

_The fact that I can still talk to you is a good sign,_ Metal Sonic thought angrily. _The fact that you did not manage to shut me down entirely is a good sign, you asshole._

"So, why are you here?" Shadow asked. "I highly doubt you came here to tell me what I already know."

"... I need to ask you something," Metal Sonic said carefully, trying not to say anything that would ignite Shadow's rage. "If that is alright."

Shadow appeared thoughtful for a moment.

"... What?" Shadow asked harshly, still not completely trusting.

"The night that Esplouge died... What exactly happened?" Metal Sonic asked. "Did you really witness Tails...?"

Shadow stomped his foot into the robot's chest again, causing another shock that nearly shut him down.

"You...! How fucking _dare_...! _Tails killed those people, how hard is that for you to understand?_"

"... Tails is threatening to kill Sonic," Metal Sonic explained, terrified that another blow would mean he would shut down entirely. "I need to know how capable Tails is of doing such a thing."

Shadow scowled.

"Sonic can burn in hell for all I care," Shadow said angrily. "If he's going to ignore the truth when it's staring right at him, he's too stupid to live."

"But..."

Shadow took his foot off of Metal Sonic, allowing the robot to stand up.

"I don't care about protecting Sonic," Shadow said. "Like I said, he's too stupid to live. I'm not going to help you protect him. Unless, of course, you'll help me murder that little abomination..."

"Shadow, I can not help you murder Tails," Metal Sonic said, repeating old words and phrases. "You know that."

"What if it was between murdering Tails or seeing him kill Sonic?" Shadow asked. "You obviously care about that blue idiot's survival; what if you had to murder Tails to ensure Sonic could live?"

"... I would prefer not to place myself in such a situation," Metal Sonic said. "That is exactly the thing I am trying to avoid."

Metal Sonic began to walk away, hoping Shadow wouldn't attack him while his back was turned.

"Tails is too far gone," Shadow said. "You have to stop thinking of him as that sweet little boy that Esplouge kidnapped. _Tails is Esplouge now_."

Metal Sonic ignored Shadow, ready to end this fruitless discussion and make sure that Sonic was still safe. He knew that if worse came to worse, he or someone else would have to kill Tails, but that was only to worst case scenario.

Metal Sonic was determined to ensure that no more deaths would result from all of this madness.

* * *

Tails stared down at Sonic, an empty grin on his face.

"I'm going to do such horrible things to you," Tails said happily, finding some perverse joy in pretending to think he was Esplouge. "Such horrible, horrible things..."

"T-Tails..."

Tails slipped the glass out of his glove, resulting in a terrified expression from Sonic.

"Do you remember when I called Sonic back when I first kidnapped you?" Tails asked. "Do you remember me beating and beating you until you lost consciousness? Do you remember me pinning you to the ground with my body? Do you remember that, Tails?"

Sonic was terrified, trying not to remember that phone call from so long ago, trying not to even _imagine_ what that lunatic had done to his best friend to result in this.

"S-stop..." Sonic choked out, trying not to completely break down. He just couldn't stand seeing his friend like this.

Tails smirked and held the glass against Sonic's throat, just as Esplouge had done to him so many times. He could feel Sonic shaking underneath him, just as he had shaken under Esplouge so many times.

It was almost perfect. The only way it could have been more perfect would be if it had really been Esplouge underneath him.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Tails whispered. "I'm going to fucking kill you, So- Tails."

Sonic just stared at Tails, uncomprehending, as Tails appeared suddenly frightened.

_Fuck, I almost fucking slipped, if Sonic has half a fucking brain, he'll figure it out...!_

_I can't kill him now, but if he figures it out...!_

Tails threw the glass aside and wrapped his hands around Sonic's throat, although his hands were shaking too hard for him to get a good grip.

"T-T-Tails..." Sonic sounded so frightened. "P-please don't..."

_Don't you dare fucking figure it out! Don't find out until I'm actually ready to kill you, goddammit!_

Sonic grabbed Tails' wrists and managed to pull them away. His hands were shaking almost as bad as Tails'.

"T-Tails, it's _me_," Sonic said. "I'm Sonic, and you're Tails, remember? Tails, please remember..."

Tails paused for a moment, staring at Sonic flatly.

"... Why aren't you scared of me?" Tails asked flatly. "You're not scared enough... Tails."

"I'm _Sonic_," the hedgehog insisted. "_You're_ Tails, remember? We're best friends, we... we do everything together."

"Liar," Tails said, his voice filled with contempt.

Tails fought against Sonic for a moment, trying to get his hands back around his hero's throat. Esplouge would probably try to punch or strangle Sonic if he were in this situation, and Tails had to do the same.

After all, in a way, he essentially was Esplouge now, at least until he could bring the darker fox back to life.

After that, he could go back to normal. He wouldn't have to pretend to be Esplouge anymore.

Or maybe he could, just for fun. After all, Esplouge had given him these issues with his identity, so why couldn't Tails return the favor? Why couldn't they relive their past, only with their roles reversed?

That would be so much fun. Playing the bad guy was becoming so much fun, and to play the bad guy toward Esplouge himself...

Both Tails and Sonic froze upon hearing the front door opening, both of them looking up to see Metal Sonic enter the house. Tails stared at the robot flatly for a moment before getting off of Sonic, debating whether to continue pretending he was Esplouge or to pretend he had come back to reality.

Sonic sat up, his body tense with fear, staring fixedly at Tails in case the fox tried to attack him again. Metal Sonic stared at the pair, walkig toward them carefully in case he was needed.

"Is everything alright?" Metal Sonic asked, already knowing the answer and merely wanting to break the horrible silence. "Sonic?"

Tails stared at the floor, his face out of view.

"... Sonic, what's going on?" Tails asked quietly.

"... Y-you thought you we-were Esplouge again..." Sonic explained, his voice and body still shaking from fear. "Y-you're back to normal now, though, r-right? T-Tails?"

Tails looked to Sonic, appearing both sad and terrified.

"D-did I try to hurt you again?" Tails asked, convincingly scared.

Metal Sonic couldn't help but view the situation with disgust, knowing full well that Tails was merely playing with Sonic. It disgusted him that Tails was this good at pretending he was so scared.

It almost seemed to belittle the true fear Tails had known while he was Esplouge's hostage. And to belittle something like that, to treat that level of fear as though it were something to play with, to use to take advantage of someone, was just disgusting.

"I-it's okay, Tails," Sonic said, his voice still shaking. "It's okay, you're okay now..."

"B-but I tried to hurt you!" Tails argued convincingly. "I c-could have...!"

Sonic pulled Tails into a hug, trying to comfort his friend. Tails stared at Metal Sonic over Sonic's shoulder, appearing somewhere between fury and breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"It's okay," Sonic said. "It's okay, Tails, I'm okay."

"I'm really sorry, Sonic..." Tails said, his voice gentle and weak, but his face harboring a smirk. "I... I wish I could stop..."

"It's okay, Tails," Sonic said, trying to comfort his friend. "Metal Sonic and I are here to help you, okay? We're going to help you get better..."

Tails was silent, still staring at Metal Sonic. He absolutely loved being in so much control. Both Sonic and Metal Sonic were completely under his control, and soon, Esplouge would be, too.

Everything was going perfectly.

* * *

A/N: I meant to have this up so much earlier. A lot of my problem with getting myself to post this were a lot of bits of dialogue I couldn't stand. But I took some out, fixed what I couldn't outright remove, and the rest of the chapter looks so much better now. Please review and let me know what you think about where this is going!


	24. Let's Make A Deal

The rest of the day had gone by without incident, at least as far as Metal Sonic could tell. Tails had spent all of his time sticking by Sonic, pretending to be scared of the past when in actuality, he was just being a manipulative little psychopath. It disgusted Metal Sonic to see Tails acting like that, but the robot felt he had to keep a close eye on the two. After all, he had thought Sonic would be safe earlier, only to come home to see Tails in the process of attacking him. After that, Metal Sonic knew he couldn't leave them; what if Sonic ended up needing his help while he was gone? He certainly couldn't abandon Sonic, especially now that the blue hero seriously needed his help.

No, he had to keep an eye on the two and make sure Tails didn't try anything else. Keep his eye out for an opening where he could safely and secretly catch Sonic up on what was going on. Sonic certainly needed to know, even if he wasn't likely to believe it at first. Tails was his best friend; Metal Sonic knew full well just how much Sonic cared about his friend, and he also knew that Sonic wouldn't take news like this without a lot of doubt.

Sonic wouldn't be able to believe that Tails was really this insane. It would completely shatter his world; after everything that had happened to him and Tails after Esplouge's creation, after all the pain they had been forced to go through, Sonic probably couldn't take any more bad news related to it all. There would be a point where it was all too much for him, and by this point, Metal Sonic was unsure but terrified of when it would happen and what the consequences would be.

But he had to know. Sonic had to know what was going on, he had to be given a fighting chance if Tails ever decided to go through with killing him. It wouldn't be fair if Sonic didn't even see it coming.

Sonic retired to bed early in the evening, while Tails decided to stay up. This was a good thing, Metal Sonic thought; Sonic was somewhere safe, and now Metal Sonic had an excuse to watch Tails more closely.

Unfortunately, Tails seemed to view their solitude as a good opportunity as well.

"So, like my acting?" Tails asked. "I'm getting pretty good at faking it, don't you think?"

"You are sick," Metal Sonic answered harshly. "I do not understand how you can find so much amusement in manipulating your best friend by faking the fear that you used to feel."

Tails smirked.

"You just don't get anything," Tails said, sounding amused. "You're just one of Eggman's shoddily designed robots, probably due to malfunction at any moment. Honestly, it's a shock you're still able to function at all."

Tails paused for a moment.

"You _are _a robot," Tails said quietly. "Your body requires upkeep if it's to stay functioning. Just how long has it been since someone's worked on you?"

"I am not allowing you to work on me," Metal Sonic said. "I do not trust you."

Tails laughed.

"I don't really think that's what matters," Tails said harshly. "What matters is that you really only have two options, and they'll both lead to the same result. Your body is going to stop working eventually, at which point, I can do whatever I damn well please with you. I'm going to get a chance to fix you up at some point, your only say in the matter is how soon that's going to be."

Metal Sonic noticed that Tails was playing unconsciously with the glass he usually kept in his glove.

"If you don't want me to work on you," Tails said, "then I won't. For now. I'm not going to fight you; I don't think I could win against you in a physical fight. But your body is going to start breaking down at some point, and when you can no longer move, I can just drag your body like a cadaver into my little workshop and fix you up good as new. Of course, if you wanted to speed up the process..."

"I am not allowing you to work on me," Metal Sonic said again. "What would you do with me? I can hardly imagine you would do something benign."

Tails exaggerated shock.

"What?" the fox asked. "Now where would you get the idea I'd do anything _bad_ with you...?"

Tails smirked.

"Whatever," Tails said, dismissing his previous humor for a slightly more serious attitude. "It's not like I'd do anything _bad_... I just want you to help me bring Esplouge back to life. That's all I would have you do, just that one, itty-bitty thing. Of course, you could just help me with that, and I could fix you up normally without having to alter the way your artificial brain functions as a reward. So I guess you really have three options, and I have to say, I think that third one would be a pretty good deal from your end of things."

"I can not help you do that," Metal Sonic said, feeling very much the same way as when Shadow tried to convince him to kill Tails. "If something went wrong, Esplouge would end up the same as he did before, if not _worse_. Besides, Sonic would not like that, and Shadow really does not need yet _another_ thing to push him over the edge."

Tails' expression darkened considerably upon the mention of the dark hedgehog. The glass he had previously been playing with was now cutting into one of his tightly balled fists. This surprised Metal Sonic; as far gone as Tails seemed to be, didn't he feel the pain of the glass digging into his hand?

"Don't you _dare _mention that bastard's name around me," Tails said, his voice a low, angry growl, much as Esplouge's would have likely been had he still been alive. "That's another thing I'll fix about you when I can; you're not going to be on his side anymore. I'll make you hate Shadow as much as I do."

"I am not on his side," Metal Sonic explained, surprised by how similarly Tails and Shadow seemed to think despite their hatred for one another. "If I were to choose a side, I would be on Sonic's. I want to protect him, and I want just as badly as he does for you to get better. As for hating Shadow, I do not think I am fully capable of feeling hatred, although Shadow has come very close to it at times."

Tails' expression softened a little, although Metal Sonic wasn't sure why.

"What do you mean?" Tails asked, his voice gentler than before. "Shadow did something bad to you, too?"

Metal Sonic wasn't sure if Tails was acting at this point, or if the fox's seemingly random concern was genuine. It was hard to tell, considering the circumstances.

"... Shadow is very violent," Metal Sonic explained simply, not wanting to give Tails more details than necessary. "Living with him was difficult."

"Yeah, yeah, but what exactly did he _do_?" Tails asked impatiently. "He had to have done something, otherwise you wouldn't have said you hate him."

"... How about you tell me something first?" Metal Sonic said. "The night Esplouge died, I understand that you and Shadow encountered each other. Shadow refuses to tell me what happened."

Tails glared.

"... He tried to kill me for no fucking reason," Tails said angrily. "I didn't fucking do anything, _he_ killed those people..."

"Tell me about that," Metal Sonic said. "What exactly happened?"

"You tried asking him earlier today, didn't you?" Tails shot back. "When you were gone, you went to see him, didn't you? Don't you try to fake that you didn't; it's way too obvious. Why did you go to see him, though? If he made you angry and basically scared you away, why the hell did you go back to see him? I'm assuming from where you lead our conversation it must have been about that night. So, what did he tell you?"

Metal Sonic was surprised and more than a little concerned that Tails had been able to figure out that much.

"He continues to insist that _you_ killed those people," Metal Sonic stated simply.

"But you're not really sure, are you?" Tails asked, smirking. "Shadow's so fucking out of his mind now, you really have no idea if anything he says is trustworthy. So why did you go ask him at all? You had to have known he wasn't going to give you a straight answer."

"I just want to know what happened," Metal Sonic said. "I want to know what happened between you two, and I want to know which one of you murdered those people. Neither of you have been reliable as far as finding the truth goes. Shadow refuses to give me a straight answer, and you avoid answering me altogether."

"Shadow says that I killed them," Tails said. "And I know for a _fact_ that he killed them. Thing is, Shadow's off his fucking nut, so it's hard to trust whatever he says. I, on the other hand, confuse you because at this point, you can never really tell if I'm acting or not."

Tails smirked as though to add to the concern Metal Sonic felt.

"However, I am the only one who will get anywhere near telling you anything other than accusations," Tails continued. "You just have to go about it the right way."

"And how would you have me do that?" Metal Sonic asked.

"When you agree to let me work on you, I'll tell you everything about that night," Tails explained. "From the moment Esplouge died, to the moment I fell asleep. Quite a few interesting things happened in that time... Of course, if you don't let me work on you, you'll never know. This really is becoming difficult for you, isn't it?"

"I am not allowing you to work on me," Metal Sonic insisted. "I would rather stop functioning altogether."

"Oh, so you can stop functioning, and I can be free to kill Sonic whenever I please?" Tails asked. "That sounds fun. Maybe by that point, I'll have Esplouge alive and he and I can kill Sonic together."

"I recall you claiming that you wished for Esplouge to be stable assuming your insane plan works," Metal Sonic said. "Unless you were lying then, as well..."

"Oh, Esplouge'll be stable when I bring him back," Tails said, smiling. "_At first_."

Tails giggled childishly, which only seemed to make his words creepier.

"He'll be bright and happy and so optimistic... then I'm going to take it all away from him, just like he did to me," Tails explained happily. "I'm going to rip every shred of happiness and contentment from his body, just like he did to me, and I'm going to leave nothing of him but a hollow, scared little shell. I am going to make him regret the moment I bring him back to life."

Tails started laughing again.

"Why would you do that?" Metal Sonic asked. "If he is stable, why would you do that to him?"

"Why the fuck did he hurt _me_?" Tails asked harshly. "There was no fucking reason; he just did it. And that's what I'm going to do to him..."

"But why?" Metal Sonic asked. "What is the point of bringing him back to life if you are planning to torture him?"

Tails' expression grew flat all of a sudden.

"... Because I miss him," the fox answered simply.

"I do not..."

"I honestly don't care that you don't understand," Tails cut in. "It works in my head, and that's all I care about. Why do I need to explain myself to you?"

Tails turned to walk away, stopping when Metal Sonic spoke up again.

"Where are you going?" the robot asked, concerned. The last thing he wanted was for Tails to try to attack Sonic while the hedgehog was sleeping.

"... I don't know," Tails said. "I want to go see Esplouge, but Sonic's sleeping in that room, and I can't risk him seeing Esplouge's body. I'm still not ready to kill him..."

"Then why would you kill him at all?" Metal Sonic asked. "You act as though you _have_ to kill him, not as though you _want_ to. You do not honestly want to murder Sonic, do you?"

Tails was silent for a moment.

"I guess I don't," Tails said. "But it's still a nice little threat to hold over your head if you piss me off. Plus, if he tries to stop me, I'll have to kill him. I can't get much done with that idiot bothering me with crap about how unethical it all is."

Tails looked to the glass in his hand, seeming mildly confused that his hand was bleeding. Metal Sonic couldn't see Tails' face, which concerned him. He had no idea what was going through Tails' mind, and if he couldn't even see Tails' face, it would be a lot harder for him to predict if Tails was going to try something crazy or not.

"... Why are you bleeding...?" Tails asked quietly. "Why are you bleeding, Tails...?"

Metal Sonic merely stared at the fox, unsure how to respond. Was Tails faking this, or was there really something wrong?

Tails had started shaking, although that wasn't a clear indication of what was going on. It was impossible to come to a conclusion without being able to see Tails' face.

"Tails...?" Metal Sonic began to ask.

Tails punched the wall suddenly before turning and grabbing one of Metal Sonic's claw-like hands in a way that made it seem as though he were trying to get as much of his blood on the robot's hands as possible.

"If Sonic heard that," Tails said, "he's going to get out here to find out what the fuck's going on. What do you think he's going to say if he sees my blood on your hands?"

"Tails, what are you...?"

"Help me bring Esplouge back to life," Tails said harshly. "Or I'm turning Sonic against you. It's your call, you damn bastard. And you better fucking hurry; I can hear him running..."

"What the heck was...?" Sonic asked, stopping short when he saw the blood dripping off of Tails' hand.

"Well?" Tails asked quietly. "What'll it be, sweet heart?"

"Sonic..." the robot began.

"Tails, what the hell happened to you?" Sonic asked. "Are you okay?"

Tails began to feign crying.

"Sonic, it hurts so much," Tails whined. "It hurts..."

"What happened?" Sonic asked urgently, growing even more concerned when he saw Tails' blood dripping off of Metal Sonic's claws. "Tails, tell me what happened!"

Tails looked to Metal Sonic, waiting for the robot to answer him.

"I... I don't know, Sonic," Tails explained weakly, staring straight at the robot. "M-Metal Sonic and I were j-j-just talking, and..."

Metal Sonic was horrified, shocked that Tails was seriously doing this to him. He certainly couldn't agree to help Tails in his insane plan, but he couldn't lose the only reasonably sane person he had left...

There had to be some way he could explain to Sonic what was really going on, but he couldn't risk telling him when Tails could hear. For all he knew, Tails still had the glass somewhere on him, and if Tails decided to carry out his threat to kill Sonic...

"Tails, did Metal Sonic hurt you?" Sonic asked.

"I... I can't remember," Tails said, still staring at the robot. "Something had to have hurt my hand, though..."

"Tails started to hurt himself," Metal Sonic explained. "He..."

"Tails, if Metal Sonic hurt you..." Sonic said, ignoring the robot entirely.

"We-we're friends, right, Metal Sonic?" Tails asked. "If you say _yes_, I think I'll remember what happened a little better..."

Metal Sonic knew he was going to regret the next words to come out of his mouth, regret that he was giving in. But what else could he say? Sonic wouldn't believe him over Tails, and he couldn't have Sonic angry at him. How could he keep Sonic safe if the hedgehog no longer trusted him?

He would have to agree to help Tails for now and figure out something at a later point. There had to be something he could still do to stop all of this madness, and he was more determined than ever to stop Esplouge from being reanimated.

The last thing he needed was for Tails to make the same mistake his master had made, and for the entire cycle to repeat itself.

"Yes," the robot said finally, disgusted with himself for giving in. "Yes, we are friends, Tails."

"That makes me feel a lot better," Tails said. "S-Sonic, I... I remember now. I cut my hand by accident, a-and Metal Sonic tried to get it to stop bleeding so much. He's so nice, Sonic..."

Sonic smiled weakly.

"That's a relief," Sonic said. "Now come on, let's go patch up your hand and get you to sleep."

"Okay, Sonic," Tails agreed, sounding as cheerful as he could with his hand bleeding.

Metal Sonic watched the two walk off, heading to the bathroom so Tails could wash his wound before covering it.

He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe that despite his efforts, Tails was essentially winning.

And that made the robot absolutely _terrified_ for what was going to happen next.

* * *

A/N: This would have been posted about four or five days ago, but for some reason, every time I tried to add this chapter, I got an error message. Seriously, I've been trying every single day for almost a week to post this thing, so you can imagine how exited I am now that it's finally letting me post it. I'm still not sure what that error message thing was about, but it's fixed now apparently, so I'm happy.


	25. Multiple

A/N: I'm not sure what's going on, but the spell check on this site isn't working for me. At all. Unfortunately, I also don't have a spell check on my computer (nor do I have any idea where to find a free on somewhere else on the internet,) but this chapter's already been delayed six days. So, I'm just going to post it now, hoping no errors managed to slip by. If you find any spelling errors, feel free to point them out to me so I can correct them.

* * *

Sonic helped Tails bandage up his hand and convinced him to go to sleep before returning to Metal Sonic, appearing worn out. It was such an out of place look on the hedgehog, although Metal Sonic found that he was growing more and more used to the sight. With everything that was going on, he was shocked Sonic was still sane at all.

That was a scary thought, Metal Sonic realized. Sonic was in a really fragile position, and the possibility of him finally snapping - assuming Tails didn't kill him first - was very high indeed.

"... Okay, tell me what really happened," Sonic said, too tired to do anything but get right to the point. "Tails didn't tell me the whole story, did he?"

Metal Sonic was surprised. Maybe Sonic was starting to understand what was really going on...

"... Tails apparently keeps glass in his glove in the same way Esplouge used to," Metal Sonic explained, deciding to get straight to the point so as to not annoy his counterpart. "We were... talking... and I mentioned Shadow, which made him angry..."

"So he did it to himself, then?" Sonic interrupted, wanting to get straight to the point.

"... Well, yes, but I do not believe it was intentional," Metal Sonic explained.

"So why did his blood get on your hands?" Sonic asked. "Did you really try to help him like he said, because no offense, I don't buy it. What the heck _really_ happened? What's going on?"

So Sonic didn't fully understand, but he was at least suspicious. That was a good start, and with Tails asleep, this was the perfect opportunity to fill him in on what exactly was going on. At the very least, Tails wasn't in the room, and as long as they kept their voices down, there was no way Tails could logically hear them, even if he was hiding just out of their sight.

Of course, whether or not Sonic would believe him was another story entirely. On one hand, it seemed like it'd be impossible for Sonic to believe that Tails was as insane as he was, but if he was at least suspicious, maybe that meant he would be more open.

At the very least, Metal Sonic felt he needed to tell Sonic the truth. Whether or not Sonic believed it was another story entirely, but he needed to hear the truth at the very least.

"... It is difficult to explain," Metal Sonic said unsurely. "I am not sure if you will believe me, to be honest."

"I don't care," Sonic said flatly. "I need you to tell me what the hell's going on. Tails was faking it, wasn't he?"

Metal Sonic almost didn't believe Sonic had just said that.

"... Yes," Metal Sonic answered, hoping his ears weren't malfunctioning and that he had heard Sonic correctly. "How did you...?"

"He doesn't look scared anymore," Sonic said simply. "His hand was bleeding, but he wasn't acting the way he would have a few months ago. Something seemed off about it. Like... It was like he really didn't care that he was bleeding. He seemed to care more about talking to you, if anything... Just what were the two of you talking about before I came in here, anyway?"

Metal Sonic thought for a moment about what to say, which annoyed Sonic.

"What were you two talking about?" Sonic asked again, seeming angry.

"... Tails wants me to help him bring Esplouge back to life," Metal Sonic explained. "He... Sonic, there is something wrong with him."

"He's trying to bring a dead person back to life," Sonic said. "He sometimes thinks he _is_ that person. Of course there's something wrong with him. Unless there's something else I don't know about. Is there?"

Metal Sonic thought for a moment just how to answer that, trying to determine Sonic's reaction to the truth, as well as trying to figure out a way to break it to him gently.

"... Tails does not think he is Esplouge," Metal Sonic explained, breaking the silence. "His grip on reality may be slipping, but he is always aware of who he is."

Sonic's eyes widened in disbelief, unsurprising to Metal Sonic.

"Tails is manipulating you, Sonic," Metal Sonic continued. "And..."

"But why would Tails do that?" Sonic interrupted. "Why would he pretend to think he's Esplouge if there isn't anything wrong with him? What's the point?"

Metal Sonic didn't know how to answer for a moment, unsure of the answer himself.

"There is no point," the robot finally said. "There was no point to what Esplouge did to him, there was no point to the murders he comitted, and there is no point to Tails' behavior right now."

_Chaos,_ Metal Sonic thought. _It is all just pure chaos._

Sonic just stared at the robot for a moment. From his expression, Metal Sonic assumed he was thinking along the same lines.

"... So what the hell can we do to fix this?" Sonic asked. "There has to be something we can still do."

"I honestly do not think there is anything we can do to 'fix' him, as you call it," Metal Sonic said. "Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to remove the damage Esplouge did to his mind?"

"But there has to be _something_..."

"I do not know of anything we can do," Metal Sonic objected. "I will try to the best of my abilities to help you, sonic, but I do not think it will be possible. Tails is just too far gone now."

* * *

_Tails is just too far gone now_.

Tails placed the phone back on the reciever after turning it off, deciding he was finished listening to Sonic and Metal Sonic's conversation. It had been so easy for him to take the phone in the hall off the hook; Metal Sonic hadn't been paying attention to that when Tails punched the wall to get Sonic's attention.

"So he knows," Tails said to himself quietly, as if scared that someone could hear him. "Sonic knows now. Fuck..."

Tails had been debating with himself whether or not to actually kill Sonic, but with the way things were going, it looked like he was running out of options. At one point or another, he wouldn't have a choice in the matter anymore; he would _have_ to kill Sonic.

"But I don't want to," Tails said to himself. "I know he won't be happy when I bring you back, Esplouge, but I don't want to have to kill him."

_Then don't._ Esplouge seemed to say. _Don't kill him if you don't want to._

"But if you're alive again... I don't want Sonic to be mad at either of us," Tails objected, looking at a point in space where he imagined Esplouge was sitting. The foot of his bed.

_Then kill him. You want to anyway, don't you? Don't you want to kill Sonic, Tails?_

"Well, yeah, but..."

What was he saying? Of course he didn't want to kill Sonic, why was he even thinking about doing such a horrible thing? It was one thing when he used the threat to control Metal Sonic, but he was all alone here, save for Esplouge...

Except Esplouge wasn't here, either. Esplouge was downstairs, in the closet of the guest room that Sonic usually occupied. At least Sonic didn't know about the body yet...

Or did he? Tails was sure there would have been some sort of sign if Sonic had figured it out, though...

_I'm in one other place, too, Tails_, Esplouge said, as though he had read Tails' thoughts. _There's one other place besides the closet._

"Where's that?" Tails asked, wondering if there was something he had missed, some mistake he had been about to stumble blindly into.

And then it hit him. Of course. The other place that Esplouge was...

"The chaos emerald," Tails said. "The red one, the one Eggman used to create you. A part of you is still inside of it."

_Exactly. And where is our emerald, Tails?_

Shadow had it. Shadow had taken it away from him after yet another attempt on his life.

_You may be a little confused about Sonic, but you certainly want to get revenge on Shadow for what he's done to you, what he's done to _us_, don't you? I can make that happen, if you want me to. Just say the word, and he's as good as dead._

As appealing as the thought of revenge was, Tails knew he was supposed to refuse this offer.

"No... Shadow's still stronger than me, and I don't want you killing anymore," Tails said. "I want you to be sane and friendly after I bring you back to life."

_Oh, really?_

Another Esplouge had appeared, this one much closer to him. More threatening. It took everything inside him for Tails to not back away.

_You say that, but it isn't really true,_ the second Epslouge said. _You want to destroy me like I destroyed you. You want to relive everything, but reverse the roles. That's the only way you can express all those complex emotions you feel about what I did to you. That's why you tried to kill those people. To express yourself._

"N-n-no..." Tails argued, his voice timid and weak, just as it had been back when Esplouge was still alive. "I... I would never..."

_Then why did you say that to Metal Sonic?_ a third Esplouge asked. This one was sitting lazily on the floor next to the bed, looking around, seeming uninterested in everything he saw. _You told Metal Sonic yourself that you wanted to... Oh, what was it? 'Rip every shred of happiness and contentment from my body.' Something like that. Wasn't that what you said?_

Yes, Tails could remember saying that.

"I... I swear I didn't mean it," Tails said. "I... I was just trying to scare him..."

_No I wasn't..._

Tails' body tensed up, feeling a pair of arms grab him from behind, a voice whispering softly into his ear. But this voice wasn't Esplouge's.

It was his own.

_I wasn't lying to that stupid robot,_ the other Tails seemed to say. _When I bring Esplouge back, he and I are going to relieve _everything_._

"N-n-no..."

_You're going to cut me, just like I did to you_, the second Esplouge said, crawling closer to Tails. _You're going to cut me and beat me and starve me, just like I did to you..._

"N-n-no..."

Tails tried to force his eyes shut, tried to block out this hallucination, but the second Esplouge now sat on his stomach and forced his eyes open.

_Look at me. When people talk to you, you fucking _look at them. _Am I going to have to cut you again, Miles? Is that the only way I can teach you any manners?_

Tails tried to scream, but his voice got caught in his throat. All he could do was lay there, with Esplouge on top of him and his own doppleganger underneath him.

_I would love for you to cut me again, Esplouge,_ the other Tails said, his voice barely above a whisper. _I miss having you abuse me. I got so used to it, now I can't remember anything else._

"Th-that isn't what I'm thinking at all..." Tails objected, trying to wrench his face from Esplouge's grasp so that he could close his eyes. "I... I'm scared..."

_Oh, so you're really expecting everything to be all sunshine and rainbows?_ the first Esplouge asked, still watching from the foot of the bed. _You think everything's going to be whatever your interpretation of normal is once you bring me back to life? That you can get Sonic to accept it and that Shadow's... what? Going to just leave you guys alone? Do you have any idea how unrealistic that is?_

"Wh-what...?"

_I tried to kill myself,_ the third Esplouge said, sounding bored. _When I was first created, when your friends finally figured out where I kept you and tried to rescue you... I was completely miserable with being alive, what with all those crazy thoughts and voices in my head._

"B-but that was the ch-chaos emerald," Tails objected weakly, still scared of the Esplouge that was still on top of him. "Sh-Shadow wasn't that unstable, e-even though his creator u-used the ch-chaos emeralds... I... I know what I'm doing, I'm not... I'm not going to let the emeralds control you, Esplouge. I'm smarter than Eggman was."

_Tch, obviously,_ the Esplouge that was on top of him said. _He's dead. I killed him. But I haven't killed you. At least not yet._

Tails flinched as the Esplouge on top of him nuzzled his neck.

_I never wanted to kill you, either,_ the Esplouge at the foot of the bed mused. _I got so used to you being around. Heh, I actually enjoyed having someone to come... 'home' to. Why do you think I started acting nicer to you after a while?_

_You only started acting nicer to me because you didn't want me to go insane,_ a new doppleganger, a third Tails, accused. _You selfish, manipulative bastard..._

_Oh, is that how you really feel about me?_ the second Esplouge asked, looking down at the real Tails. _You hate me, is that it? What I did to you, what I did to your friends... To that poor little girl..._

"N-no..." Tails objected, trying to block out the mental images that tried to force their way into his brain. "N-no, I don't... I never hated you, Esplouge, I swear. I don't hate you."

_Oh, but if I tell you I hate you, maybe you'll hurt me some more_, the second Tails said. _So maybe I'll just hate you when it's convenient for me..._

"What...?" Tails asked, dumbfounded. "I... What?"

The second Esplouge, the one that was on top of him, licked his neck, sending waves of discomfort and fear over Tails' body.

_You like it, don't you? When I scare you..._

"I... No..."

Tails tried to push the hallucination away, but it merely grabbed onto his wrists and pinned his arms down. Now he couldn't even defend himself.

"P-please don't..."

_Or I'll kill you,_ the third Tails said. _Don't hurt me, or I'll kill you._

"N-no, that isn't... Isn't what I'm thinking at all..."

_Oh, dear, I'm not going to _hurt_ you..._

The second Esplouge sat up and let Tails go. The doppleganger underneath him, however, took over the duty of holding him in place, as Esplouge took something out of his glove.

A shard of glass.

_... I'm going to kill you, Tails._

Tails wasn't aware when it started, but he began to scream, and continued well after his throat started to feel sore.


	26. Off

Sonic and Metal Sonic came running the moment they heard Tails screaming. Sonic tore the door to Tails' room open forcibly, his brotherly instincts telling him that Tails was in trouble and needed his help.

But, Sonic realized as he pulled the door open and stepped into the room, Tails was probably faking this, too. Just how much of what Tails did and said was real?

Tails was lying on his bed, staring up at something that only he could see. Or, at least, that was what it looked like. Sonic paused, torn between helping his friend and trying to avoid being manipulated.

"Is he faking this?" Sonic asked quietly, adressing his robotic counterpart. "Can you tell if Tails is faking this?"

"I can not," Metal Sonic said, his robotic eyes trained on the fox. "It appears genuine, but..."

Tails looked over to the two, still appearing terrified. He looked back to the spot his eyes had been trained on and then back to the two, seeming to just realize where he was and what was going on.

"S-S-Sonic..."

The hedgehog had to force himself not to run to Tails' side. He didn't want to be manipulated any more, and if that was what Tails was trying to do right now...

"Why did you scream?" Sonic asked.

Tails looked like he was going to cry, which absolutely tore Sonic's heart to pieces. What if Tails really wasn't faking this? It wasn't fair to basically accuse the fox of lying if he was really scared of something...

No, that wasn't a healthy way to view the situation. Of course nothing was wrong; the only thing out of the ordinary was that Tails looked like he was going to cry, and even then, he was probably faking it.

Tails was a different person now. And Sonic would have to learn how to deal with this new person if he ever wanted to try to get the normal Tails back.

"S-Sonic, wh-what are you saying?" Tails asked, sounding hurt.

"Why did you scream?" Sonic asked again, his voice stern and harsh. "There's nothing in here, why are you so freaked out?"

Tails was silent for a moment, staring at Sonic and Metal Sonic, seeming scared and confused.

"Wh-what?" Tails asked. "Y-you know I haven't been... haven't been doing well recently. Y-you know I keep for-forgetting who I am and where I am. I... I just got freaked out, I th-though I was... was somewhere else for a minute there. Y-you believe me, don't you? Sonic?"

Tails seemed to grow more desperate when Sonic didn't answer.

"There's more than one me!" Tails said, his voice growing steadily louder. "I'm... I'm not one of the bad ones right now, it's _me!_ Can't you tell? H-how can you not tell me apart from them?"

"... There's only one you, Tails," Sonic said, trying to remain calm despite his overwhelming urge to run into the room and comfort his friend. "We both know that. You're not more than one person."

Tails appeared shocked. He stared at Sonic for a moment before looking to Metal Sonic.

"_Tell Sonic I'm not faking this!_" Tails screamed. "You're so fucking _smart_, you should be able to tell, shouldn't you?"

"No, I can not," Metal Sonic said. "And even so, Sonic should be able to figure out for himself if you are lying right now or not. He is a lot smarter than you give him credit for, Tails."

Tails' expression grew suddenly homicidal, but only remained that way for a moment before reverting back to frustration and fear.

"S-Sonic..."

"Tails, if you weren't faking this, don't you think I'd be able to figure it out on my own?" Sonic asked. "Why would you think I need Metal to confirm it for me?"

"B-because you always listen to him now!" Tails cried. "You'll believe anything he says, even if he's wrong! Wh-why do you trust him more than me, Sonic? Y-you're supposed to be my friend, you're the only one I have left now..."

"Tails, you're my best friend," Sonic said, trying to keep his voice calm. "You've been my best friend for a long time. Don't you think I would be able to figure out if you were lying or not? You shouldn't be worried that I won't trust you if you're telling the truth."

Tails appeared shocked by this, although Sonic couldn't tell why.

"S-so, what?" Tails asked. "You're not going to believe anything I say if I get worried you won't believe me? Y-you're just going to accuse me of lying or whatever if I start to get freaked out?"

"That isn't what I'm saying at all, Tai-..."

"You're going to leave me all alone with this, aren't you?" Tails interrputed. "B-because the minute I start losing my grip, I'm suddenly lying to you, is that it? You're just going to leave me like everyone else has..."

"That isn't what I'm saying at all," Sonic said forcefully. "I'm..."

Tails smiled, although he still looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"M-maybe I should go find Shadow," Tails said. "If my only friend doesn't trust me anymore, there's no reason for me to still be alive..."

Sonic was in front of Tails in under a second, startling the fox with how quickly he moved.

"Don't you dare threaten to do something so stupid," Sonic said forcefully. "Do you have any idea what you're even saying? Take a look around, Tails; I'm not exactly swimming in friends, either. I care more about you than anyone else, you _know_ that. So don't you dare threaten to get yourself killed."

Tails merely stared at Sonic, seeming slightly intimidated.

"Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll stay with you," Sonic said. "You have a couch in here, and I really wouldn't mind staying close to you if you really need me to. I care about you, Tails, and if something's going wrong, I want to do whatever I can to help you."

"You're starting to sound like Esplouge," Tails said. "He always told me he cared about me, even though he was probably lying. Or not. I don't know. I don't even think he knew it himself. But after a while, when he first kidnapped me, he would say that over and over. He would always tell me how much he cared about me and how much he didn't want me to be taken away from him."

Tails started to shiver.

"B-but he'd tell me that after hurting me," Tails continued. "Af-after beating me or cutting me. He'd hurt me and tell me he cared about me. How do I know you're not doing the same thing? How do I know you're not manipulating me like he did, Sonic?"

Sonic was horrified Tails would say such a thing, and it showed.

"Do you even know what you're saying?" Sonic asked. "Tails, it's _me_. Why on earth would you think I'm trying to hurt you?"

"... I don't know," Tails said. "Why did Esplouge hurt me? Does there really have to be a reason for someone to want to hurt another person?"

Tails began to play with the bandage on his hand, seeming as though he were trying to tear it off.

"I really do just want things to be normal again," Tails said. "For everything to go back to the way it was before Esplouge was created. I wish I could just wake up from this, and see that Amy is still alive and Eggman is back to scheming and that all of this has just been one really long, detailed nightmare. Maybe we were stopping one of Eggman's stupid plans and I fell into a coma and I'm just dreaming up all of this... But I know that isn't the case, even though I really wish it was. I wish I could wake up form this and have everything be normal again. That would make me happier than anything."

"If you want things to be back to normal so badly," Sonic asked, "then why do you want to bring Esplouge back to life? All he would do is remind you of what he's done."

"The other me... well, one of them... is the one that wants Esplouge back," Tails said. "I don't. I'd be scared if I saw Esplouge again. But the other me..."

"Tails, there isn't another you," Sonic said. "There's only one you."

"Don't even pretend to know what goes on in my head," Tails said coldly. "You have no idea what a chaotic mess it is in there. At least one of the other... other mes in there wants to kill you. That one scares me the most. The one that wants to hurt you scares me so much."

"Tails, there isn't another you," Sonic objected. "You're the only you. If part of you wants... wants to kill me, then all of you wants to do it."

Tails didn't say anything, contenting himself with fidgeting with the bandage on his hand.

"Esplouge wanted to kill me," Sonic continued. "Is that what you're thinking about? Are you thinking about bringing Esplouge back to life?"

"... No," Tails said quietly. "Not really."

Tails got up off the bed and headed toward the door, confusing both Sonic and Metal Sonic.

"Where are you going?" Sonic asked.

"Did you look out the window?" Tails asked. "It's really pretty outside. I want to go look at the stars."

"Then we'll come with you," Sonic said.

"I'd rather if you didn't," Tails said. "I don't want to talk to you anymore right now. Please leave me alone."

"Tails..."

"I just want a few minutes alone," Tails said. "Please?"

Sonic was frustrated that Tails wasn't listening to him.

"Fine," the blue hero said. "But if you're not back in here in five minutes, Metal and I are dragging you back in here."

Tails smiled.

"I can accept that," Tails said.

* * *

The moment Tails got outside, he tried to look for a good spot where Sonic and Metal Sonic wouldn't be able to see him. He certainly couldn't go too far from the house if they were watching him, but there seemed to be windows all over the place.

So, for the time being, he contented himself with simply walking around the house, pretending to look up at the sky every so often just in case Sonic and Metal Sonic were watching. That was easy enough.

_What do you think?_ Tails asked himself internally. _Think I can get away before they come after me?_

_If I want to have any chance of getting away without them catching me, I'll have to get out of here pretty fast. They said five minutes, it's already been at least two._

Tails walked calmly further from the house, looking up at the sky as though completely focused on the stars and nothing else.

_I don't think it'll work. I know it won't. But I'm still going to try._

Tails smirked, his plan dancing around in his head. If things worked out the way he wanted them to, he'd be able to eliminate at least one of of his frustrations tonight.

_You said you miss her, right? You'll be able to see her again very soon, then._

Tails began to run, refusing to look back. He was sure Sonic and Metal Sonic hadn't noticed him yet, and he had to keep his mind focused on the task at hand.

Someone was going to die tonight. And right now, Tails almost didn't care who.

* * *

"Can you see him, Metal?"

Sonic and his robot counterpart had been watching Tails from the window, sure that something was up. Sonic hadn't wanted to force Tails to stay inside with them; after all, if he really wanted to look at the stars like he said, it would have been unfair to not let him. But from what Sonic and Metal Sonic had seen, Tails had wandered around for a bit before disappearing from their view entirely.

Sonic tried to remain calm, although not knowing where Tails was was beginning to scare him. What if he had really meant it when he said he was going to look for Shadow...?

"I can not see him," Metal Sonic answered. "Where could he have gone?"

"I have no idea."

"You allowed him five minutes," Metal Sonic continued. "It has only been three. Do you want to go out to search for him now, or would you like to wait until his five minutes are up?"

In all honesty, Sonic wanted to run out there, find Tails, and bring him back inside, but he would have felt bad if Tails had just walked into the window's blind spot and wasn't up to anything shady. As much as he knew it was probably a bad idea, he still couldn't help but trust Tails. After all, Tails had been his friend for so long; it was difficult for him to suddenly go from trusting the fox to being suspicious of everything he did and said.

At the very least, Sonic couldn't imagine Tails doing something horrific within the five minutes that were quickly ticking down. There was just no way Tails was capable of that.

"We'll wait," Sonic said finally. "But as soon as his five minutes are up, we're going out there and looking for him."

* * *

Tails got to the outskirts of the city in no time, panting heavily as he ran. It felt like he hadn't run this much in forever, but he had to keep going.

He had to find Shadow quickly. He had to find Shadow before Sonic figured out what was going on. Before Sonic could try to stop him.

_You're going to pay for all the pain you've put Esplouge and I through,_ Tails thought angrily. _You're going to give my emerald back to me, and you're going to pay for every last attempt at Esplouge's life..._

He knew Shadow was near, he could almost feel it. The chaos emerald, the one that had given Esplouge life so long ago, the one Shadow had stolen from him. He could feel it, as though it were physically there near him, trying to tell him exactly where to go to find it...

An almost blinding yellow light crashed down into the ground in front of him, hardly an inch from his feet. Tails stopped immediately and looked toward the trees, figuring that if Shadow could see him, he was probably somewhere above.

"I never would have thought you'd just come to me," Shadow said, his voice sounding farther away than Tails had expected. "And without those traitors... You're making this way too easy for me, Tails!"

Another spear of light crashed down in front of Tails, not startling him in the slightest. Tails stared down at the charred ground where the spear had hit, appearing bored.

"So what, are you just going to hide from me like the coward you are?" Tails asked loudly, making sure Shadow would hear him. "You're too scared to take on a little boy in a physical fight? Some Ultimate Life you are."

Two things happened simultaneously. First, Tails saw Shadow jump down from the trees, landing a few feet in front of him in a blur of black. Second, Shadow launched likely as many chaos spears as he could in one go, and unlike the last couple, these ones were aimed directly at Tails. They slashed all over his small body, some barely grazing his fur, while others nearly cut to the bone. Tails stumbled for a moment, took a second to regain his balance, his face trained at the ground.

"How'd you like that?" Shadow asked smugly.

Tails looked up at Shadow and smiled.

"Ouch," Tails said hollowly. "That hurts. Stop it."

Much to Shadow's surprise, Tails started laughing. The hedgehog was stunned for a moment before launching another attack, cutting Tails much more deeply, furious when all it seemed to do was make Tails stumble.

"Ha ha ha... You really think _cutting_ me can hurt me now?" Tails asked. "After all the shit Esplouge put me through? You've gotta be kidding me, Shadow. I can't even feel the pain anymore. I'm so far beyond that now."

Tails slipped a shard of glass out of his glove, still smiling hollowly.

"Now, I really only want one thing," Tails said. "If you give me back my chaos emerald, I'll just leave. That'll be it."

"You have got to be kidding me," Shadow spat. "Why the hell would you think I'd let you have this back? We both know you'd try to do something crazy with it."

"Well, you're right about that, Shadow," Tails said. "Still, it's a lot better than the alternative."

"Which is...?"

"I'll kill you for it," Tails said simply. "It's your call, Shads."

Without warning, Shadow launched another barage of chaos spears at Tails, shocked Tails wasn't showing any obvious signs of pain.

"You've got to be faking this," Shadow said more to himself than to Tails. "There's no way this isn't hurting you. Why aren't you dodging?"

"Because you can't hurt me anymore, Shadow," Tails said simply.

"You dodged before," Shadow said, his voice taking on a tone of fury. "If it doesn't hurt you, why did you dodge before?"

Tails' smile grew darker.

"There isn't anyone behind me for it to hit this time," Tails said, sounding on the verge of laughter. "That other time, there were those people you were trying to protect from me. Do you remember that, Shadow? How I cornered them and you finished them off for me..."

"I didn't mean to hit them!" Shadow shouted. "_I was trying to kill _you_, but you had to fucking move!_"

Shadow launched himself at Tails, pinning the fox to the ground, fully prepared to beat him to death with his bare fists.

"You're such a fucking idiot, Shadow."

Before Shadow could respond, Tails' glass was shoved through his stomach, twisting and turning as it went deeper. Shadow tried to get off, to distance himself from the fox, but in moments, Tails was sitting on top of him, removing the glass to shove it in again.

"You're such a fucking _idiot_, Shadow."

Tails snatched the red chaos emerald from Shadow, pocketing it for the moment, wanting to keep his focus on the hedgehog beneath him.

"I'm Esplouge now," Tails said. "Right now, Tails is somewhere else, watching all of this, horrified out of his unstable little mind. The thought that his body is capable of murder may just be too much for my dear, sweet little Miles to handle..."

"You..."

Tails pushed Shadow's head back, exposing the hedgehog's throat.

_It's going to take more than that to kill him..._

Tails slashed Shadow's throat as deeply as he was capable of.

"Esplouge was always able to stay alive because of just how much chaos energy was inside of him," Tails said out loud, talking more to himself than to Shadow. "Even if parts of his body were destroyed, the chaos emerald's energy always managed to heal him for some reason. I'm still not sure how it all works, but I know for a fact you don't have enough chaos energy inside of you to survive this, Shadow. Still... You've been very fun to play with."

Shadow tried to speak, but the new slash in his throat prevented any coherent sound for escaping. Tails stared down at him for a moment, seeming puzzled.

"... You don't have to talk anymore, Shadow," Tails said quietly. "You don't have to talk anymore. You don't have to think or feel or hurt anymore. You can finally be with Maria again. Isn't that what you want? Esplouge told me a little bit about her, in those notes he left for me before he died. You loved her like a sister. You miss her so much. So much, almost as much as I miss Esplouge right now. I'm just helping you see her again."

Tails held the chaos emerald tightly in his hand, lifted it high over Shadow's head. Simply stared down at the hedgehog, his hollow expression having turned to one of fear and sadness.

"... I... I'm just helping you see her again," Tails said, his voice much quieter than before. "I... I'm... I'm not doing a bad thing. This isn't bad. I'm just helping you..."

Tails seemed to debate with himself for a moment, lowered his hand harmlessly so that it merely rested on Shadow's chest.

"I'm sorry, Shadow," Tails said. "I... I'm sorry I'm doing this. You tried to stop me, I know, but he doesn't want me to let you stop me. Esplouge won't let you stop me..."

Tails raised the chaos emerald again, his expression turning to one of sheer joy.

"... That's what Tails is thinking right now," the fox said. "If he wasn't so scared to come out right now, he could say it all to you himself."

Tails brought the chaos emerald down on Shadow's skull, almost hard enough to crack the bone. He raised the emerald again for another attack.

"Goodbye, Shadow."

* * *

Sonic and Metal Sonic were racing as quickly as they could, trying to find Tails.

It had been more than twenty minutes since Tails had left the house. Five of those they had wasted, expecting Tails to come back inside after supposedly gazing at the stars. The last fifteen, they had spent trying to figure out where Tails had gone and came to the only conclusion that seemed logical.

Tails was probably wherever Shadow was right now. Most likely somewhere outside the city. Of course, neither of them had any idea what they'd see once they found Tails. Assuming they managed to find him at all.

The two split up, figuring they could cover more ground if they did so. Both were sure that if they found him fast enough, they could prevent whatever it was that Tails was planning.

* * *

Metal Sonic stopped when he saw Tails, unable to tell for a moment just what he was looking at. Tails was sitting on top of something dark, beating it over and over with a chaos emerald.

The red chaos emerald. The one Shadow had had the last time Metal Sonic saw him.

"Tails..."

The fox turned around swiftly, appearing shocked that someone else had found him.

"What are you doing?" Metal Sonic asked, trying not to look at what remained of Shadow's head.

Tails was silent for a moment.

"... You're going to tell Sonic about this, aren't you?" Tails asked quitely, standing up as he spoke. His entire body shook, seemed exhausted from how violently he had beaten Shadow's head in. "I can't have Sonic knowing about this..."

Under normal circumstances, Metal Sonic would have been able to prevent what happened next. But the wear and tear on his mechanical body prevented him from moving properly anymore. His body froze in place, and no matter how much the robot tried to focus, he couldn't get his body to move anymore.

Now Tails was sitting on top of him just as he had been with Shadow mere moments ago.

"... I gave you a chance," Tails said hollowly. "You could have let me work on you. I told you your body was going to stop working at some point. You should have accepted my offer, you idiot. Do you have any idea how long it's going to take for me to rebuild all the parts of you that I'm about to break? And keeping all of this a secret from Sonic is sure going to be a pain..."

Tails smiled and lifted up the chaos emerald.

"I'm going to turn you off now."


	27. I Didn't Do It

His entire body felt numb. That was the only word Tails could think of to describe how he felt; he just felt numb. As though his nerves had shut down, as though no information was reaching his brain to let him know what to do. How to respond.

He was still sitting on top of Metal Sonic, the hand holding the chaos emerald resting harmlessly on the robot's chest. The muscles in his arms were shaking, although Tails was barely aware of it. He couldn't take his eyes off of Metal Sonic, couldn't tear his mind away.

The screen that served as Metal Sonic's eyes had cracked in numerous places, and was completely black. It was strange to see Metal Sonic like that.

Turned off.

Tails opened his mouth to speak, but felt too numb to get the words out. For the moment, all he could do was stare down at Metal Sonic, wondering what on earth he had done.

Or, rather, what the other him had done.

Tails finally managed a slight sob, wrenched his eyes shut to block out what had happened. Tried to block out the image of someone else controling his arm, making him slam the chaos emerald into Metal Sonic over and over, well after the point where it was obvious the robot was never going to get back up.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Tails said quietly. "I... I'll try to fix you as soon as I can. Th-the other me is going to try to make you... different... but I'll t-try to... try to not let him. I don't want you to help him bring Esplouge back. I really don't, Metal."

Tails finally pulled himself off of the robot, the movement feeling oddly unnatural. His body was so exhausted, and he knew logically that it very well should be, but his mind just wouldn't register it. It was a strange feeling, but he knew he had to get out of there before Shadow found him. As tired and aching as his body was, if Shadow found him...

_Sh-Shadow...?_

Tails stood in place, staring in horror at the dark shape on the ground just a few yards away.

He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember seeing Shadow at all, much less the other him having him kill the hedgehog.

"I... I did that?" Tails asked himself. "N-no... He... He's so much stronger than me, I c-couldn't have..."

Tails licked his lips, although he wasn't sure why. Esplouge certainly would have in the same situation, but...

"I'm... I'm not Esplouge," Tails said out loud. "I'm... Oh my god, what's going on? Why...?"

Tails couldn't even say it out loud. It was too disgusting to think about.

_Why do I want to lick the blood off his body?_

"This isn't me," Tails said. "I'm... I'm not..."

_I'm not Esplogue._

Tails looked to the chaos emerald that he was still holding, unsurprised at this point that some of Shadow's blood was on it.

_Don't you want it, Tails?_ Esplouge's voice. _After all, he made you lose so much blood. You could die any second if you don't replace some of it..._

"R-replace?"

Tails wasn't sure why, but he felt himself walking toward Shadow's body, his own body feeling...

What was it? He had never felt this sensation before...

No, that wasn't right. He had felt this sensation numerous times before. Every time Esplouge licked him. Bit him. Except this time, it wasn't scary.

It felt good.

_Are you beginning to understand it, Tails? What I felt whenever I had you in my arms?_

Shadow's body was barely an inch away from Tails' feet now.

_You're older now, Tails. You understand it now, don't you?_

Tails' grip on the chaos emerald tightened.

"I... I..."

Tails suddenly screamed louder than he could ever remember and ran. All he wanted to focus on was getting as far away from Shadow's body as possible before his own body grew too weak to continue running.

* * *

Sonic heard Tails scream and immediately started to run in the direction it had come from. If he had been able to scream, that meant Tails was obviously still alive, but how long would that last? If Shadow had found him...

Sonic stopped running as soon as he saw his robot counterpart lying uselessly on the ground.

_What the hell happened?_

_Where's Tails?_

Sonic looked around, although it was hard to see anything in the darkness...

He froze when he noticed the dark figure lying just a few yards away. For a second, he was too scared to go see who it was, afraid that it would be Tails. It was sick, but he almost felt relieved when he saw that it was Shadow, although that relief was short-lived.

Tails must have done this, Sonic figured. And he still had no idea where Tails was.

Sonic looked self-consciously toward the trees, wondering if Tails was above him, watching him until he saw fit to...

Sonic shook his head, trying to banish the thought. There was no way Tails would do something like that.

Although when Sonic looked back to what remained of Shadow's head, a strong sense of dread flooded his entire body. Tails must have done this, and if he had managed to kill _Shadow_ of all people...

At the very least, it was possible that Tails could kill Sonic. Easily.

"T-Tails?" Sonic called weakly. "Tails, where are you?"

Sonic noticed a quiet sobbing sound that sounded like it came from the trees. He walked cautiously toward the sound, finding Tails curled up and bloody amongst the exposed roots of the surrounding trees.

"Tails?" Sonic asked gently, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation as he spoke. "Tails, are you okay?"

"I... I didn't do it..." Tails said quietly. "Sh-Shadow..."

"Tails, I don't... I don't think you did anything," Sonic lied, trying to make himself sound convincing. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Sh-Shadow was... was going to k-kill me..." Tails said, seeming to grasp around for anything realistic he could add to his story. "B-but then M-Metal Sonic came... A-and they fought..."

Sonic was sure this was a lie, but for now, he decided to ignore that. He had to get Tails and Metal Sonic back home, which wasn't going to be an easy task.

"Can you stand?" Sonic asked gently. "We have to get out of here."

Unless Sonic was imagining things, Tails seemed to back up further into the tree roots, as though he was scared of something.

"Wh-what?" Tails asked. "N-no..."

Sonic paused, unsure of how to respond to this.

"... Tails, we have to get out of here," Sonic said. "We need to get back home, and we need to fix Metal Sonic..."

"_I didn't do it!_" Tails screamed, startling Sonic, recoiling further into the tree roots. "I don't... Sonic, I don't... don't know what's going on..."

"Tails, I don't think you did it," Sonic said again, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "I want to help you. And the best thing for you would be..."

"If Esplouge came here and killed me?" Tails asked. Something in his voice almost sounded...

Eager?

Sonic paused for a moment, wondering if he had heard Tails wrong.

"What?" Sonic asked. "Tails... Why would you say something like that?"

"I... I can't stop him, Sonic," Tails said. "He's... He's going to win. He might as well do it sooner rather than later..."

"Tails, what are you talking about?"

Tails was silent.

"We have to get out of here," Sonic said again. "Do you understand that? You're hurt and tired, and..."

"All of this is my fault," Tails said quietly. "If... If I didn't exist, then Esplouge couldn't have been created, and Amy and Cream and Shadow wouldn't be dead right now, and... and..."

Tails began to cry, clinging onto Sonic like a terrified child to his parent. Sonic carefully picked Tails up to carry him back home to get him patched up and put to bed. Tails didn't resist, which Sonic decided to take as a good sign.

Metal Sonic would have to wait until later. Sonic wasn't sure how he was going to carry the robot back home by himself, but he'd figure something out.

The only thing that mattered to him right then was getting Tails back home safe and sound.

* * *

Sonic and Tails had gotten back home in no time, for which Sonic was grateful. Tails seemed alright for the most part, and all that was left was getting the fox to clean off the blood and get to bed. Hopefully, Tails would be more coherant after a good night's sleep.

Sonic almost felt sick for not being phased by the blood all over Tails' body. He knew that the best case scenario would be for the blood to be Shadow's, and that was probably correct to an extent. It was obvious that some of the blood had to have been Tails', but for some reason, it just didn't bother him as much anymore. As if a part of him was gone.

_No,_ Sonic told himself. _I'm not losing my emotions or whatever; I'm just stressed out and tired. I probably need a good night's sleep just as badly as Tails does right now._

"Can you stand on your own?" Sonic asked, setting Tails down gently, still holding onto the fox in case he fell over.

"Yeah," Tails said hollowly. "I'm fine, Sonic."

"Do you think you have enough energy to take a quick shower?" Sonic asked. "You need to get cleaned up."

"Do I have to?" Tails asked, feigning annoyance, trying to pretend he was a normal child who just didn't feel like taking a shower. Trying to pretend to himself that the blood was mud and everything was alright.

"Yes," Sonic said. "You don't want those to get infected, do you?"

"... I guess not..."

Tails headed up the stairs toward his bathroom, stopping about midway up.

"... I'm sorry for making you worry so much," Tails said. "I really am trying to get better, Sonic."

Sonic feigned a smile, trying to let Tails know that everything was okay.

"I know, Tails."

* * *

Tails merely stood there, letting the hot water hit his back, watching the blood swirl around his feet. The cuts all over his body were stinging from the heat, but he didn't mind. It reminded him that he could still feel, and right now, that was almost a blessing.

He was still him. He was still Tails, he wasn't Esplouge or anyone else.

But how long would that last?

Tails genuinely couldn't remember attacking Shadow, and his memory of attacking Metal Sonic was vague at best. He knew he had done it, but he couldn't remember actually doing it.

The other him had done it. The one that was trying to take over, the one that wanted to kill Sonic and bring Esplouge back to life. That one, that part of him had done it, that part of him was insane.

That part of him wanted to take over. The part of him that was insane, the part that wanted to bring Esplouge back to life just to torture him, that part of him was trying desperately to take over, to have full control of their shared body.

And Tails was growing increasingly worried that his other self would win.

* * *

Tails returned to Sonic after he was finished showering. Sonic helped him bandage up his wounds, and then Tails was off to bed, leaving Sonic alone to try and figure out what to do next.

He had to get Metal Sonic back home before anyone else found him. The last thing they needed was for someone else to find Metal Sonic and take him away somewhere. No, Sonic had to figure out some way to get the robot back home, which was going to be very difficult to do on his own. He wasn't sure exactly how heavy the robot was, but assuming Metal Sonic wasn't mostly hollow...

The thought of asking for help was appealing, but who could he ask? It felt as though anyone who got involved with him and Tails wound up dead, and by this point, Sonic wasn't willing to risk losing anyone else.

So he would have to do everything on his own from now on. It was just him and Tails from now on. At least until Tails got better, but by this point, Sonic was growing more and more sure that would never happen.

Tails was going insane. Tails would never be the sweet and innocent little boy Sonic had known for so long. Tails would never work on his plane for hours on end, would never hang out with what was left of his friends just for the fun of it, would never...

Tails would never find joy in anything ever again. Tails was becoming almost emotionless, as though he didn't derive any sort of feeling from the things he did. He just acted on instinct, and by this point, his insitinct had been warped from the fear and torture Esplouge had put him through. Tails could kill every single person on the planet and feel neither regret nor joy.

Forcing down his feelings, Sonic dashed out the door. He still wasn't sure how he was going to get Metal Sonic back home, but he was determined to do it.

He needed at least one thing to go right.

* * *

A/N: (Is it just me, or did the spell check button disappear entirely?) I'm going to apologize now for any spelling errors that may be in this chapter. I proofread more than usual, so I don't think too much could have slipped by.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the chapter, where the story is going, etc. I'd really love to hear what you think!


	28. Still Here

Tails laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The inside of his head was starting to feel like a battlefeild. One side, the side that was still him, strived for peace. Coexistence, even. He was perfectly willing to compromise. But the other side, the side that was insane, the side that didn't know exactly _who_ it wanted to be...

That side of him, of the battlefeild, just wanted control. For everything of Tails' to belong to it.

"I don't want to fight," Tails said out loud, addressing the other him. "I don't want to fight with you anymore."

Tails began to feel his eyes drooping, his mind fading into sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake. If he was awake, he was conscious. He was in control. The other him couldn't get in control without him knowing as long as he was still awake.

So he had to talk to it for now. Had to keep it engaged, had to keep himself awake.

"Please stop... Stop saying things like that," Tails said out loud. "I... I already said I'm willing to compromise as long as you don't do anything bad."

Tails paused for a moment, as though listening for a response.

"I don't trust you," Tails said. "If we bring Esplouge back, if I agree to help you, how do I know you won't hurt him? I... I don't get it completely, what you're planning, but I know it's..."

Tails paused again, this time, seeming to drift away from the internal conversation completely.

"... Esplouge has to be lonely down there."

That was a strange thought, now that he thought about it. Esplouge was nothing more than a lifeless shell now, he certainly couldn't feel lonely anymore. But the more Tails thought about it, the worse he felt.

Esplouge's body was still in perfect condition. Would remain that way forever, whether or not it was ever revived. He looked as though he were sleeping, and the thought of making Esplouge sleep alone...

"He... He said part of the reason he didn't sleep was... Was because it scared him whenever things were different when he woke up," Tails said out loud. "He... He didn't like being all alone when he fell asleep or woke up, because he... because he could never tell if anything was real or not. He needed someone there to tell him that this was real. So he just didn't sleep."

It hadn't made any sense to him before, but now that he thought about it, it seemed perfectly logical.

Esplouge's mind had functioned somewhere completely different from everyone else's. The way he thought about and percieved things had always been different, even from the moment he was first created. His own odd perception could have started it, but the sleep deprivation he had forced onto himself had definitely been the final blow. The thing that made Esplouge's mind shatter completely.

Shattered, like dozens upon dozens of shards of broken glass.

Even now, Tails wasn't sure what had drawn Esplouge to using glass as a weapon. Esplouge had to have mentioned it in the notes he had left after murdering Amy, but Tails couldn't remember...

That was odd. This was the first time he could remember not recalling something from those notes. Tails had made a point to commit them to memory just in case he lost them. So why couldn't he remember this one thing?

"Esplouge had to have mentioned it at some point," Tails said out loud. "I just... I'm just tired."

Tails paused for a moment, thinking.

"I don't want to be alone with you," Tails said out loud, sitting up and stepping out of his bed. "I'm gonna go find Sonic."

* * *

Sonic hurried to reach Metal Sonic, debating the entire time whether or not he could risk asking someone to help him bring Metal Sonic back home.

It seemed as though everyone who was close to him or Tails wound up dead. It was silly to think, but it felt like everyone who got near them died. Even Esplouge, which hadn't even seemed possible until it finally happened. Shadow, too; Sonic had to wonder just what on earth lead to Tails going after Shadow in the first place, but for Tails to get in a fight with the dark hedgehog and come out mostly okay...

That wasn't entirely true. Tails probably had more cuts on his body now than he ever had before, and they could all easily get infected if the two of them weren't careful about taking care of them. Although, now that he thought about it, Sonic was shocked Tails hadn't bled out before he found him. It was strange enough that Tails had managed to get in a fight with Shadow and win, but for him to successfully murder the hedgehog and come out more or less okay...

It was all just too strange. As though there had to be more to it than what Sonic was seeing.

Sonic finally reached his robot counterpart, although he was still at a loss for how to bring him back home. He tried lifting Metal Sonic and was unsurprised to discover that the robot was much heavier than he looked. Dragging him back like this would take forever, but what else could Sonic do?

Knuckles would certainly be capable of helping him carry Metal Sonic, but Sonic couldn't risk anything happening to the echidna. Knuckles was probably the only sane friend he had left, and Sonic absolutely refused to put him in any danger.

As far as Sonic was concerned, Tails would probably try to kill Knuckles the moment Sonic got in contact with him. He didn't understand it, but he was absolutely sure that Tails would kill anyone else that Sonic had in his life, so the safest thing he could do was distance himself from everyone else until it was safe to let them back into his life.

Assuming, of course, that Tails didn't simply kill him first. The thought of that terrified the blue hero, but it was becoming easier and easier to imagine Tails trying to kill him. And Sonic knew he wouldn't do anything to stop Tails; at best, he'd merely run away with his tail between his legs, but what would happen after that? If Tails was determined enough...

Trying to shake the thought away, Sonic placed his focus back on getting his robot counterpart back home. Sonic struggled to carry Metal Sonic a short distance before getting a better hold on the robot. He was at least going a little faster now, although at the pace he was going, it would still take at least an hour for him to get home when it usually only took half a minute.

But it was worth it to him. As long as no one else was put in any danger, it was worth it.

* * *

Tails looked around the house for a few minutes, dashing in and out of every room, wondering where on earth Sonic had gone.

Why would Sonic leave him, Tails wondered? Why, after all that Tails had gone through, had been going through, would Sonic leave him all by himself? Why would Sonic presumably assume it was perfectly safe to leave Tails alone with his other self, if even for only a few minutes or however long Sonic was planning on being gone?

"... He's just like everyone else," Tails said hollowly. "The moment he saw a chance, he left, just like everybody else."

Tails punched the back of his couch, hurting his hand in the process. He cursed under his breath, holding his hurt hand as though that would help anything.

"Esplouge never would have left me like this!" Tails shouted. "And even if he did, he would have at least told me where the fuck he was going! He never would have left me alone if I was hurt like this!"

Tails paused for a few minutes, letting the anger sink in and wash over, bringing himself back to a calmer state where he could think more clearly. If he got too angry, the other him would feed off of that, would use that to control him.

No matter how hurt or angry he got, Tails knew he had to keep his emotions under control. No matter what happened, he had to make sure his other self couldn't use his emotions to control him anymore. It was bad enough he had attacked Sonic in the past, but what he did to Shadow...

He was still shocked his own body had been capable of murdering the hedgehog. That a little boy had been capable of destroying the ultimate life. His other self was strong, there was no doubt about that, and Tails was determined to keep Sonic safe from it. So, no matter what happened, no matter what Sonic did, Tails knew he couldn't get mad at him.

Sonic was the only person he had left. Just Sonic and nobody else.

That was, assuming his other self didn't succeed in bringing Esplouge back, which Tails was too scared to even think about. After all, if his other self messed up as Eggman had, Esplouge would come back just as insane as he had been before. And if his other self didn't mess up...

Tails didn't even want to think about that. He could remember clearly how calm and sweet Esplouge had been when he lost his memory; would Esplouge act like that if he was brought back to life? Would he be tormented by the things he had done, or would he be able to start all over? Either way, his other self had something in mind, something Tails was somewhat in the dark about, but he knew it wasn't good.

His other self was planning to do something truly awful to Esplouge. And the easiest way to avoid that, unfortunately, would be for Tails to ensure Esplouge wasn't brought back to life in the first place.

No matter how much he wanted Esplouge to be alive again...

"... Esplouge is still here," Tails said calmly, heading toward the room Sonic usually occupied. "Esplouge won't ever leave me..."

* * *

Sonic got back over an hour later, his muscles sore from carrying Metal Sonic so far. As much as he wanted to treat the robot with some sort of dignity and leave him on the couch, Sonic ended up leaving his robot counterpart on the floor near the door, too tired and sore to carry him any further.

He and Tails could figure out what to do with Metal Sonic in the morning. In the meantime, all Sonic wanted to do was get some sleep and try to forget that this day had ever happened.

But first, he had to check on Tails. If there was anything Sonic had learned over the past few months or so, it was that Tails had become very unpredictable. It was safer to check on him as often as possible, especially if he had been left alone, just in case anything weird had gone through his mind.

So, naturally, Sonic headed to Tails' room, shocked to see that it was empty. He panicked, checking every other room in the house, growing more and more concerned and terrified when he couldn't find Tails anywhere.

If Tails had left, he couldn't have gotten too far, not with his injuries. But where would Tails go? Shadow was dead, and he had seemed to be Tails' biggest motivation to sneak out of the house earlier. So where else was there?

Sonic walked past his own room, on his way out the door to go look for Tails, when something caught his attention. Hadn't he closed the door to his room before he left to get Metal Sonic? He was pretty sure he had closed it, now that he thought about it, but it had been open when he had searched the house...

But Sonic had already checked in there and hadn't seen Tails. Nevertheless, Sonic went back into the room, noticing for the first time that the closet door, the one Esplouge's body was behind, was slightly ajar. The thought of Esplouge's body being in there made him nauseous on its own, but why on earth would the door be open unless...?

"Oh hell no," Sonic said to himself quietly, walking toward the door. "There's no way he'd..."

Sonic carefully opened the door a little more so that he could see into the closet, nearly screaming when he saw Tails curled up next to Esplouge's corpse. He backed out of the room, trying not to make a sound, nearly tripping over furniture, before closing the door and running back outside so he could scream without Tails hearing him.

The last thing he needed was for Tails to know what he had just seen. As damaged as Tails' psyche had become, the last thing Sonic needed was for Tails to find out he knew Esplouge's body was inside their house. So, Sonic distanced himself from the house, making absolutely sure he was far enough away from Tails and anyone else who could hear him, before screaming until his throat was as sore as the rest of his body.

* * *

A/N: I meant to have this chapter done a while ago, but I had a lot of problems writing this one, for some reason. It could be in part due to the fact that I feel like this part of the fic is probably a chapter or two away from being complete; it's going to be so weird going from this to posting the prequel to the first part. I have to think it'd be weird for you guys, too, after getting used to this story and then going back to before the beginning. And then after that, I have an idea for what could happen after the end of this part of the story, which I'm probably going to be working on while writing/posting the prequel. This story is so persistant.

Also, if anyone would like to beta read for me, please contact me about it. I mainly need help with keeping things consistant and avoiding plot holes, as well as spell checking. So if anyone is interested, please don't hesitate to let me know!


	29. Forgetting?

Tails woke up late the next morning, feeling the sun on his face. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, saw that he was in his bedroom. He was pretty sure this wasn't where he had fallen asleep, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't recall where he had fallen asleep the night before.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember almost anything from the night before. He could remember being in the forest outside of the city, but now that he thought about it, he was sure that had been a dream. Either way, his memory of it was vague at best.

Tails stretched and hopped out of bed, ready to get some breakfast and start his day. He had a really good idea for an upgrade for his plane, and if he got started on it right away, he was pretty sure he could get it finished within the next day or so.

Tails was surprised to see Sonic in the kitchen, sitting at the table. The blue hero appeared to be deep in thought, so much so that he almost didn't notice Tails when he walked in.

"Uh... M-morning, Tails," Sonic greeted, sounding as though he were scared of being screamed at. This puzzled Tails, but he assumed that Sonic had probably just been up late stopping one of Eggman's schemes or something and was just tired.

"Morning, Sonic," Tails greeted. "When'd you get here?"

Sonic finally looked up at Tails, appearing confused.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked. "I've been here for months."

Now it was Tails' turn to be confused.

"Really?" Tails asked, reconsidering his plans to work on his plane. After all, if he couldn't even remember that Sonic had been staying with him for so long, that was probably a sign he needed a little time out of his workshop. "Oh... Well, I was thinking of upgrading my plane today, but..."

"You need to fix Metal Sonic," Sonic interrupted, trying to sound stronger than he felt. "Remember?"

"What?" Tails asked, confused. "Why would you want me to do that? Isn't Metal Sonic our enemy? I mean, he's Eggman's robot and all..."

"... He's been trying to help us," Sonic explained, seeming extremely confused, possibly even more so than Tails. "Remember?"

Tails shook his head.

"Why would Metal Sonic try to help us?" Tails asked. "He's Eggman's robot. I thought he was built to destroy you."

Sonic stared at Tails, seeming confused and, Tails noticed, a little scared. Tails wasn't sure how to respond to this, so he headed to the cabinets to see what there was to eat.

"If you want me to fix Metal Sonic, I'll fix him," Tails said. "Does he just need a little repair, or...?"

"He's... off," Sonic said, not sure what to call the state his robot counterpart was in. "He won't turn back on."

"Oh," Tails said. "Then it'll probably take me a while. Unless we can get Eggman to give us Metal Sonic's blueprints, it's going to take me forever just to figure out how he's supposed to work, much less fix whatever's wrong with him."

Sonic was quiet, seeming to have nothing else to say. Tails found some cereal that looked pretty good and grabbed the box, taking it with him over to the refridgerator to make sure he had milk for it.

"Do you think Amy would want to hang out with us today?" Tails asked, grabbing the carton of milk and checking to see if it was still good.

Tails failed to notice the expression of pure horror that had appeared on Sonic's face, busying himself with getting a bowl for his cereal.

"... She... She can't hang out with us anymore," Sonic said, his voice shaking. "D-don't you remember?"

"She can't?" Tails asked. "Why not?"

"... She's not... not here anymore," Sonic said, sounding as though he were about to cry.

"Did she move?" Tails asked, finishing up with making his bowl of cereal and heading toward the table to sit with Sonic.

"She... Tails, how can you not remember?" Sonic asked.

Tails just stared at Sonic, taking in his expression, but unsure of how to respond to it. Sonic looked absolutely horrified, as though there were something he knew that Tails didn't, and Tails tried as hard as he could to think of if he could remember anything that might have to do with it. Something related to Amy, that much was obvious, but Sonic usually didn't get this worked up over her.

"Sonic, it's okay," Tails said. "Whatever it is, it's okay."

Sonic appeared shocked to hear this, which Tails hadn't been planning on. Had he said something wrong?

"Tails, seriously, what's going on?" Sonic asked. "Why are you acting like everything's normal?"

"Did something happen?" Tails asked, trying to recall anything strange that may have happened. All he could remember was working on his plane like he usually did, although if he had failed to notice Sonic had been staying with him for so long, there were probably a few other things he missed out on as well. "I'm sorry. I guess I've been working on my plane a little too much..."

Sonic merely stared at Tails for a moment, as though trying to think of a response.

"... Tails, how old are you?" Sonic asked.

"Eight," Tails said, a little confused why Sonic had asked him his age. "... I didn't miss my birthday, did I?"

Sonic got up from the table as if to leave.

"Where are you going?" Tails asked.

"I... I have something to do," Sonic said, dashing off before Tails could say anything else.

* * *

Sonic found himself running around the city, dodging around people on the streets to avoid running into them.

_Eight?_ Sonic thought to himself. _He thinks he's still eight?_

That was uncomfortable enough on its own, but when Sonic realized that that was the age Tails had been when Esplouge first kidnapped him...

_He's acting like it never happened,_ Sonic thought to himself. _He's acting like none of it ever happened. Like everything's normal._

As much as Sonic wanted Tails to finally start acting normal again, this was too much. Acting normal was one thing, but to completely forget everything...

That wasn't normal. There was still something seriously wrong with Tails, even if it wasn't as dangerous as before. Even if Tails stayed this way and never remembered Esplouge again, there was still something horribly wrong with that.

_This is beyond just him acting like everything's normal,_ Sonic thought. _It's never been this bad with him. Even when his parents died, he still remembered that they were dead. Even when he acted like everything was okay, he still remembered they were dead._

It was obvious enough that there was something seriously wrong, but what could Sonic do about it? Reminding Tails of Esplouge felt like it would be a bad idea, and after what had happened the night before, Sonic was too scared to ask for anyone else's help.

Tails had killed Shadow. From what Sonic knew, Tails had killed Shadow with his bare hands, something which had seemed impossible up until it happened. And from the way Tails had been acting lately, Sonic wouldn't be shocked if he returned home and found Tails talking to Esplouge's dead body as though he were still alive.

And thinking of Esplouge, Tails had slept with his body the night before. He had to have noticed Esplouge's body next to him when he woke up, but if he had seen Esplouge's body, why was he acting like none of it had ever happened?

So all of this, Tails seemingly forgetting everything, was a game. It had to be. There was no way he wouldn't have noticed Esplouge's body next to him when he woke up. He was just pretending so he could mess with Sonic's emotions, to control him.

Sonic stopped running suddenly, staring at the ground at his feet, not really seeing it.

Tails was manipulating him, just like he had been doing since Esplouge died. He had put a new spin on it, but Sonic was absolutely sure at this point that Tails was manipulating him again.

He hadn't forgotten about Esplouge. His mind hadn't reverted back to a point where his life had been peaceful. He knew exactly what had happened, he knew exactly what was going on, and he was pretending not to so he could manipulate Sonic. That had to be the case; nothing else made sense.

There was no way Tails would suddenly forget about someone he had become so obsessed with. There was just no way.

"... You were right," Sonic said, looking up at the sky hollowly. "You were right, Shadow. All of this could have been easier if I had let you... if I had just let you kill him. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right."

Sonic paused for a moment, as though trying to come to a decision.

Everything would be so much easier if Shadow were still alive. The thought of any harm coming to Tails still made Sonic absolutely sick, but something had to be done to stop whatever it was he was planning.

There had to be something other than death. There was no way Sonic would be able to live with himself if anything happened to Tails, but there had to be _something_ he could still do...

And that, Sonic realized, would be a lot easier to figure out of Metal Sonic were still functioning. But with Tails as unstable as he was, Sonic was already worried that Metal Sonic was either never going to be fixed, or that the robot would be used to help Tails bring Esplouge back to life.

And once Esplouge was alive again... That was something Sonic didn't even want to think about.

"... I can't do it," Sonic finally said, sounding defeated. "I can't kill him. You know that. You were just trying to make it easier for me, weren't you? You were going to stop him so I didn't have to, right? I don't know what to do now, Shadow. I can't let him do whatever it is he's planning, but I can't stop him, either."

Sonic looked back to the ground, shaking his head.

It felt like there was nothing more he could do. He couldn't kill Tails, and he certainly couldn't stop him any other way. Tails was winning, and if he wanted to bring Esplouge back to life, Sonic was sure without a shadow of doubt he'd be able to pull it off. And whatever happened after that, whether Esplouge would be just as insane as before or act perfectly normal, it would be a bad thing either way. If Tails was insane, it didn't matter how sane Esplouge would be when Tails eventually brought him back.

Even if Esplouge came back perfectly sane, Tails' insanity would corrupt him, just as his had done to Tails.

"Is... Is that what he's planning?" Sonic asked, looking back up at the sky. "He's... Is he...?"

_Is he going to torture Esplouge like Esplouge tortured him?_

The thought of that terrified Sonic, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If Tails was as insane as he was, the only reason he'd have to bring Esplouge back would be for...

"... He's going to get revenge," Sonic said to himself, horrified by the mere thought. "Oh my god..."

Was Tails really that sick? Was he really capable of torturing another person?

"He tried to kill me when I started staying at his house permanently," Sonic said, trying to get his thoughts straight. "He..."

If Tails was capable of murder, he was probably capable of torture as well. After all, with how insane Tails had been acting, it wasn't too difficult for Sonic to picture Tails enjoying every second of causing another person pain.

"I can't... I can't let him bring Esplouge back to life," Sonic said. "_Especially_ if I'm right about this. It'd be bad enough having to deal with that psychopath again, but if I'm right about this..."

But what could he do to stop Tails? There was nothing he could do, save from hiding Esplouge's body somewhere Tails would never find it. If Tails was determined enough, he'd find Esplouge eventually anyway, and the thought of even touching the reason Tails was acting this way in the first place...

"It's the only thing I can do," Sonic reasoned with himself. "If I can keep Esplouge's body away from Tails, Tails can't bring him back to life. This way, no one has to get hurt."

Sonic finally raced back home, trying to think of good places to hide Esplouge's body as he ran.

* * *

Tails finished up his cereal, set the empty bowl in the sink, and filled it with water, figuring that'd be good enough for now. He was more interested in finding Metal Sonic, seeing what condition the robot was in before deciding how he'd go about fixing him. He found the robot laid out on the couch, looking almost like he was asleep save for the shattered screen that had once served as his eyes.

Tails stared at the robot blankly for a moment, feeling his thoughts drift off to the night before, to the forest...

"Oh, right," Tails said to himself. "That was just a dream." He smiled cheerfully. "I'm going to fix you up like new, okay, Metal Sonic? When you wake back up, you'll be good as new, and then I can break you all over again."

Tails started to laugh.

"Well, I guess I'd have to wait a while before breaking you again," he said. "After all, I still need you to help me bring Esplouge back to life. But once that's done, I will completely fucking _obliderate_ you. And then, and then after that... well, you won't be around to see that, will you?"

Tails climbed on top of Metal Sonic, sitting on the robot's stomach and staring down at him as Esplouge had done to him so many times before.

"I'm going to kill you, Sonic," Tails whispered, smiling. "After I bring my dear little Esplouge back, I'm going to kill you..."


	30. Gone

Sonic returned home, finding himself face to face with Tails the moment he walked through the door.

_Has he just been standing there the whole time?_ Sonic wondered.

Tails hesitated for a moment, seeming surprised before finally speaking.

"Are you alright, Sonic?" the fox asked. "You look like you're nervous about something; is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Sonic said, cursing his luck. He had been planning on sneaking Esplouge's body away as soon as he got home, which would have been a lot easier to do if he had been able to sneak in and out unnoticed. He certainly couldn't do anything while Tails was watching.

Tails seemed a little unsure about Sonic's response, but decided to trust it. "Can you help me move Metal Sonic into the basement, then? He's too heavy for me to move on my own, and I'd like to get started on him as soon as possible."

"Sure," Sonic agreed, stepping past Tails and into the room.

_I can get Esplouge out of here while you're working on Metal Sonic,_ Sonic figured. _That shouldn't be too hard._

Sonic grabbed Metal Sonic under the arms and lifted him up awkwardly, still sore from dragging the robot home the night before. Tails took a hold of Metal Sonic's feet so they wouldn't drag on the ground, and in a few minutes, he and Sonic were in his workshop with Metal Sonic lying on a table.

"Do you need my help with anything else?" Sonic asked, trying to sound friendly. It was hard for him not to show how impatient he felt.

Tails shook his head.

"Fixing him is going to take a while, but I think I have everything I need right here," Tails said. "Thanks, though."

"Alright," Sonic said, trying not to sound too eager to get away. "If you need help with anything, let me know."

Tails smiled and nodded, showing that he understood but was ready to get to work. Sonic had to force himself to walk up the stairs instead of simply running like he normally would have done. The last thing he wanted was to look like he was too eager to get away from Tails.

_I don't think anyone we know would be willing to keep Esplouge's body away from Tails for me,_ Sonic thought as he headed toward the closet Esplouge's body was stored in. _Especially with the risk involved; if Tails is as crazy as I think he is, I doubt anyone would be willing to keep Esplouge's body away from him._

But what else was there? He needed to make sure Tails wouldn't find Esplouge's body, and the easiest way to do that would be to have someone else guard it. The first problem with that, though, was that he didn't know anyone who would be willing to go anywhere near Esplouge's body. The second problem was that he didn't want to put anyone else in danger. Tails was smart, Sonic could easily see Tails figuring out his plan and figuring out where Esplouge's body was. And if Tails wanted to get to Esplouge, Sonic had no doubt in his mind that he would kill for it, no matter who he had to kill to get it.

So he had to hide Esplouge's body somewhere Tails would never think of, somewhere that would seem too obvious yet seemingly random at the same time, but for the time being, he didn't know where that was.

_Amy's dead. Shadow's dead, not that he'd cooperate with this anyway. Knuckles seems too obvious; besides, he already has the master emerald to guard. Who else is there?_

Sonic realized that he'd most likely end up having to hide Esplouge's body somewhere unguarded, somewhere that only he would know about, but that opened up a whole new set of problems, the most obvious one being that someone unrelated could stumble upon the body.

_I can't put anyone else in danger, so I have to hide him somewhere Tails would never think of where someone would never go. But what kind of place would that be?_

Sonic stared at the door Esplouge's body was behind, still unsure of where exactly to bring it. He knew he should probably hurry up; if anything, he figured he should just grab Esplouge's body, leave, and figure out where to bring it while he was outside of the house. But just knowing what was behind that door made it almost impossible for Sonic to open it.

Just the thought of seeing that monster's face again, whether or not it was dead, was almost too much for him to handle. With everything that was going on right now, Sonic was beginning to seriously worry about his own sanity, and he was sure that seeing Esplouge's face wouldn't help in that matter.

* * *

Tails got to working on Metal Sonic the moment Sonic left, determined to fix the robot as quickly as he possibly could.

As soon as he fixed Metal Sonic, he could get to work on Esplouge. All he had to do was figure out what exactly had gone wrong with the robot, fix it, and then he could get to work on bringing back Esplouge.

"This is going to be so much fun," Tails said cheerfully. "Now I'll finally know exactly how you work, and I'll know exactly how to break you if I need to."

Tails stood over the robot, looking down on it the way Esplouge had looked down on him.

Threatening.

"Not that I should ever _need_ to break you," Tails continued. "Unless I mess up, I think I can get you to be as obedient to me as you were to Eggman. I won't need to destroy you if you always do my bidding and never, ever betray me."

Tails smirked and walked away from the table.

"If I work on you at a good pace, I should be able to get you finished in a few weeks, maybe a little less," Tails said. "After that, we can get started on Esplouge. I'm not sure how long he'll take; I know we'll need to get some more chaos emeralds so his energy is more balanced, but I'm not sure how long that'll take. And bringing something truly to life is probably going to be a lot harder than simply building a robot. You're pretty complex with whatever artificial intelligence Eggman gave you, but you're still just a machine. You can't really think or feel, can you? Unless Eggman was a better scientist than I thought, I highly doubt it. Something that's truly alive, on the other hand, has to be a lot more complex, I'd imagine. But if I have you to help me, that should speed up the process a bit. After all, you helped create him in the first place, and what better reference to have than someone who actually created him?"

Tails hopped onto another table in the room, sitting on the edge so that he could swing his feet childishly back and forth.

"How long has it been?" Tails asked thoughtfully, watching his feet as they swung in and out of view. "It's hard to believe it's been so long since Esplouge and I first met. I can still remember how scared I was; I was scared of him before I even saw him. Like I knew that there was something wrong with him, even without knowing he was there. He scared me so much back then..."

Tails let his mind wander, remembering how terrifying his life had become from that moment on, remembering each and every thing he could about what Esplouge had done to him. The beatings, the psychological and physical torture, the constant fear that he was going to die at any moment...

How scared Esplouge had gotten when he first made Tails bleed. How Esplouge had washed the blood off of his wounded and beaten body so gently. How Esplouge had made sure he had at least _some_ food, even if it was just so he could use Tails to lure Sonic into some kind of trap Tails was sure hadn't been thought out all the way if at all.

As much as Esplouge had terrified him, he had taken care of him. He had cared about Tails, and that was what had started all of this.

Tails had become dependent on the feelings Esplouge gave him, both the fear and the relief. To have those taken away from him confused him; after what he had been through, Tails just wasn't comfortable with everything being calm and normal again.

No, he _needed_ that fear and relief. He couldn't function without it; these feelings had become the only ones that felt normal to him.

And if Esplouge was no longer going to provide it, he was going to recieve it.

Tails shook himself from his thoughts, hopped off the table, and headed back toward Metal Sonic. He was determined to get Metal Sonic fixed as quickly as possible, and he certainly wasn't going to rest until he had Esplouge cowering at his feet.

Tails paused for a second to wonder what that would look like; a terrified expression on Esplouge's face. He had spent their entire relationship cowering in fear, so it was going to be interesting to say the least to have their roles reversed.

"I can't wait to finally see you again," Tails said. "My dear."

* * *

Sonic finally forced himself to touch the doorknob that would lead him to seeing Esplouge's body, knowing that the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he wouldn't have to look at Esplouge again.

If there was a way he could destroy the body, Sonic was sure he'd never have to see it again. Esplouge had been seemingly torn apart before, and he was sure the only reason the fox hadn't died was because of the chaos emerald's energy that had been inside of him.

Without that energy, Sonic figured, Esplouge's body was just a shell. It wouldn't decompose, but it certainly wasn't indestructable, either. Besides, even if he didn't _destroy_ it, it was going to be hard for Tails to get Esplogue's body back if, say, it had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

That would be the backup plan if simply burning it didn't work. As much as Sonic hated water, he hated what was happening to Tails much, much more.

Swallowing back his discomfort, Sonic finally swung the door open, expecting to see Esplouge's body curled up amongst the blankets and other stuff he and Tails had decided to keep in storage.

Then he felt his plans fall completely apart. All of the planning he had done to keep Esplouge's body away from Tails had completely fallen through.

Esplouge's body was gone. Sonic wasn't sure why, if Tails had figured out his plan or something else, but whatever the circumstances were, Esplouge's body was gone.


	31. Hope

Sonic stared into the closet for a minute, trying to make sense of things. There was no way Tails could have figured out his plan, but if that was the case, why had he moved Esplouge's body? It just didn't make any sense; as far as Sonic knew, Esplouge's body had been in that closet since the night he died. Why, then, would Tails suddenly decide to move Esplouge's body somewhere else?

And, more importantly, where had he moved it to? Obviously not somewhere Sonic would find it, that much was for sure. It was strange enough that Tails had decided to use the closet in Sonic's room initially, and the blue hero was sure that Tails had moved it somewhere that would be much harder to find. But where could that be?

_... Wherever it is, I have to find it before Tails gets done with Metal Sonic,_ the blue hero figured. _And the sooner I find it, the better._

Sonic dashed around the house, looking in every closet, under every couch and chair, every last place he could think of where Tails could and would hide Esplouge's body. He found nothing, which frustrated him to no end.

_The only places left in here are his room and his workshop,_ Sonic thought, having decided to skip looking in Tails' room in case Tails would find out about it. With the way Tails had been lately, it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine him completely blowing up if he found out Sonic had been in his room, _especially_ if Esplouge's body turned out to be somewhere in there. But with nowhere else to look, Sonic took a tentative glance toward the door to Tails' workshop before heading up the stairs and into the fox's room.

Tails' room was much cleaner than Sonic had been expecting. With the way Tails had been acting lately, Sonic had been expecting Tails' room to be in a similar condition to the one it had been in when he first started staying with Tails; completely destroyed. But everything was in its rightful place and unbroken. Absolutely perfect with nothing at all out of the ordinary. Yet somehow, that made it all the more disturbing.

It certainly added to the illusion Tails was trying to keep up; the illusion of normality. But Sonic knew better now, he could see through it. Tails wasn't normal and likely was never going to be normal again, no matter what Sonic did to try and help him. And to see Tails putting up such a normal facade was somehow more disturbing than Tails acting completely insane.

At least if Tails were acting as crazy as he really was, Sonic would know what he needed to look out for. He'd know what to expect, but with Tails acting the way he was now, Sonic had no idea what to expect, and that only made things scarier.

Shaking off the thought, Sonic walked further into the room, double checking that Tails hadn't snuck up behind him or anything. There wasn't much Tails could hide Esplouge's body behind; just about the only possible places were under his bed, in the bathroom, or in the closet. Sonic checked under the bed first, finding nothing but a few papers that he decided to ignore for now, figuring they probably weren't important anyway.

Sonic glanced over to the closet door, worried that the moment he walked up to it, Tails would come back into the house and find out where he was. It seemed like Tails had a knack for doing that; always somehow _knowing_, even when it didn't make sense for him to.

Or was Sonic just being paranoid?

Shaking off the feeling, Sonic walked up to the closet and opened it up, prepared to see Esplouge's body tumble out of it, and equally relieved and frustrated when it didn't. The closet was mostly empty, save for a chaos emerald resting on the floor. Sonic stared at the sky blue gem, confused, wondering when Tails had found it and how long he had had it.

If anything, it seemed odd that Tails seemed to keep the red emerald close to himself while stuffing the other one in his closet. A chaos emerald was a chaos emerald; did it really matter which one he had? Why did the red one seem so special to him?

Sonic decided to leave the emerald, figuring there wasn't much Tails could do with it. After all, the only ones he knew of who could truly harness the energy of the emeralds were himself and Shadow, and with Shadow gone...

Sonic shook off the thought, closed the door, figuring that either way, Tails couldn't do much with the emerald.

Sonic looked toward Tails' bathroom, feeling slightly nervous, wondering if he'd find Esplouge's body behind the door. If he did, that'd be great; all he'd have to do then was get Esplouge's body out of the house without Tails noticing. After that, things would be a lot easier.

But if it wasn't there...

What would he do then? He had to find Esplouge's body, prefereably sooner rather than later. The sooner he did, the easier it'd be for him to get it somewhere far away and hidden, and then...

And then what?

Tails would still be insane, possibly irreversibly so. What would happen once Sonic got Esplouge's body away from him?

Sonic shook off the thought, figuring that whatever would happen, it'd be better than allowing Tails to do whatever he was planning. If he was right, if Tails was going to try to bring Esplouge back to life only to get revenge, that was something that had to be prevented. As much as Esplouge disgusted him, Sonic wasn't willing to let Tails torture him. He was better off just staying dead where he couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

Sonic stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light, equally disappointed and relieved when he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Everything was clean and in place, just as Tails would have had it back when he was still sane...

_No, what am I thinking?_ Sonic tought. _He's... He's been acting more normal lately, maybe he's really getting better this time..._

As much as he wished that were true, Sonic knew Tails was not likely to ever get completely back to normal. But still, for some reason, the more he thougth about it, the more he found himself trying to believe in it.

Tails was still in there somewhere on the inside. Somewhere inside that creature who was planning on torturing Esplouge, Tails was still in there, probably scared of what was going on. What he was doing. And if he was still there, there had to be a way to reach out to him, to get him to come back out and lock the monster he was transforming into away entirely.

There had to still be hope.

* * *

Sonic found himself decending the stairs into Tails' workshop a few minutes later, hoping he'd see Tails actually working on Metal sonic like he said he would. Much to Sonic's relief, Tails really was working on the robot, although he stopped when he noticed Sonic come in.

"Is it alright if I stay down here with you for a bit?" Sonic asked.

Tails shrugged.

"Sure, I guess," the fox said, seeming to not mind one way or the other. "I'm afraid it probably isn't going to be that entertaining to watch me work on Metal Sonic, but if you want to be in here, it's fine."

Sonic smiled and sat on a chest that was out of Tails' way, not wanting to interrupt the fox's work. He watched Tails work for the next few hours, nodding off almost constantly from boredom, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

It really did look like Tails was getting back to normal, as much as Sonic was sure he shouldn't believe it. And at the rate Tails was working at, it looked like Metal Sonic would be fixed pretty quickly.

After looking at the clock for the fourth time in the same minute, Sonic finally excused himself, stretched, and headed for bed. Tails wished him a good night as he headed up the stairs.

It really did seem like everything was getting back to normal.

* * *

Tails stared at the door for several minutes after Sonic left as though afraid the blue hero would come back.

Wasted. His entire afternoon had been wasted pretending to work on Metal Sonic to keep Sonic happy. But now Sonic was going to sleep, which gave Tails plenty of time to get to what he was really planning to do with his day.

Tails crept into his house, made sure Sonic didn't notice him before slipping out the door.

Sonic had brought back half of what he wanted. Now he was off to bring back the other half.

* * *

A/N: I haven't updated anything on here in forever! I feel awful for how short this chapter is; I promise the next one will be longer and more interesting.


	32. Delusional

Tails shivered involuntarily in the cold night air, unaware of how cold he really was. For the time being, nothing else mattered; he had come to get something he desperately needed, and if he had to brave the cold to get to it, then so be it. It wasn't like it was freezing or anything, just a little cold.

His emotions felt numb. Not dark as the night, not cold as the air he was breathing, just... numb. Like he was hollow, and didn't care one way or the other if something came to fill him back up. He was content feeling like a shell, or as close to contentment as he could feel now.

_You're going about this with an awfully good attitude,_ his image of Esplouge said, walking next to him only in his mind. _Just coming along with me to collect a dead body; I must say, it's nice to see my little Miles is finally growing up._

"I'm not the one coming with you," Tails said flatly, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "You're the one coming with me."

_Either way,_ Esplouge said dismissively. _Either way, we're finally together. Working together to do... What, exactly? ... Heh, like it really matters. What matters is that we're together, or at least we will be soon. Isn't that why we're going to get Shadow's body? So you can study it? Use it in any way you can to help bring me back faster?_

"Precisely," Tails said. "If I can understand how he was created, I can get a better idea of what I need to do with your body so it can live again. Even if I can't get too much information from him, I can still experiment on his body a little..."

_Oh, you're going to experiment on him?_ Esplouge asked, interested. _To find a quicker way to bring me back, or just for the sheer fun of it?_

Tails was silent for a moment, seeming more focused on remembering exactly where he had left Shadow's body. It couldn't be too far away...

_It's going to be so much fun,_ Esplouge said, trying to get Tails' attention. _Me alive again. We can torture each other, cut each other, beat each other... We can spend the rest of our lives like that..._

Tails stopped walking and glared at Esplouge furiously. He grabbed the darker fox by the shoulders and pinned him to a nearby tree, relishing the feeling of Esplouge squirming underneath his touch.

"Heh, you really think that's what I want?" Tails asked coldly. "You think that's what's gonna happen? Do you?"

_Oh, yes, just like that,_ Esplouge said. _Intimidate me. Just like I did to you. I really did teach you well, didn't...?_

Before Esplouge could finish, Tails slammed his fist into the darker fox's stomach and let him fall to the ground, gasping for breath. Tails stood over him, fully prepared to hit him again.

"No," Tails said. "We're not playing your game anymore."

Tails kicked Esplouge in the stomach, causing the darker fox to drop down to all fours.

_T-Tails...?_

"I'm going to die eventually," Tails said. "I can't live forever; my body isn't like yours. Do you really think I'm going to let you shorten my life by letting you beat the crap out of me? Because if you do, you can think again."

Esplouge flinched, expecting Tails to kick him again, although nothing happened.

"... You and I are going to switch places," Tails said, walking away. "I am going to live forever, because I will be you. You're the one who's going to die eventually, Esplouge. That monster that did this to me, he's going to die. And all that will be left is a scared, timid little boy, just like we started out with..."

Esplouge got back up and ran to catch up with Tails, although he was wary about getting too close.

_... I think Shadow's nearby,_ Esplouge said tentatively.

Tails smirked, feeling as though everything was coming together.

Esplouge was under his control. The person who had done this to him, corrupted him, was now under his control.

In moments, the two foxes stumbled upon Shadow's body, both of them smirking darkly when they observed what remained of his head.

"Just as we left him," Tails said, approaching Shadow's body. "Perfect. It looks like no one's found him, so this is going to be even easier than I thought."

Tails struggled to lift Shadow up by his underarms while Esplouge merely observed.

_... I can't really help you with this, can I?_ Esplouge asked. _I mean... I'm still not alive yet, so how can...?_

"Grab his feet," Tails commanded, leaving no room for argument.

Esplouge did as he was told, and Tails immediately felt the difference in weight now that Esplouge was helping him.

_Tails, this shouldn't be possible,_ Esplouge said. _I'm still..._

"Shut up," Tails snapped. "As long as you're here, I can get Shadow back home in no time. Stop trying to fuck it up."

Esplogue stopped talking, and the two foxes carried Shadow's body back home without another word to one another.

* * *

Tails snuck into the house as quietly as he could, dragging Shadow's body with some difficulty. His muscles were sore, but he managed to ignore that for the time being. His main goal was getting Shadow's body somewhere Sonic wouldn't find it as quickly as possible.

That would be easy enough, Tails figured. Sonic wouldn't dare go in his room anymore, and Shadow's body gave off no odor. After all, how could an experiment decompose?

Tails snuck passed the door to Sonic's room, dragging Shadow's body as quietly and quickly as he could up the stairs.

His own bathroom would be a good place to hide Shadow's body. After all, why would Sonic ever go in there? There would be no reason for him to, with two other bathrooms in the house.

Tails managed to lift Shadow's body just enough to let it fall into the bathtub. He felt his own muscles starting to give out, exhausted from what he had just forced himself to do.

Convincing himself that Esplouge had helped him only worked for so long. His mind believed the illusion for a while, but his body knew better, and the exhaustion was catching up with him fast.

But, at the very least, he had done it. He had succeeded in what he set out to do; retrieving Shadow's body.

Now all that was left to do was finding the perfect time to get it down to his workshop so he could experiment on it.

All that was left now was making sure Sonic wouldn't come down there ever again. And that, Tails figured, would be easy enough.

* * *

Tails awoke early the next morning feeling sore all over. He groaned, already dreading the day before it could even begin, trying to remember what he had done the previous night to make himself feel so sore.

He had spent some time with Esplouge. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember what they had done, but Tails was sure he remembered being with...

_But Esplouge is dead,_ Tails thought, feeling a little concerned. _How could I have...?_

Tails shot out of bed, suddenly remembering why he was so tired, why he felt so sore. He tore open the door to his bathroom, nearly screaming when he saw Shadow's body splayed out in his bathtub. For a minute that seemed to drag on for hours, Tails found that all he could do was stare at the mess which had once served as Shadow's head, unable to stop the image of himself causing such a violent wound.

How good it had felt inflicting that wound. How his body seemed to shake with excitement, as though he had woken up on Christmas morning and was eagerly leaping down the stairs to open his present.

Or was it something else? Tails couldn't quite place the feeling, but the feeling he had gotten when he murdered the dark hedgehog was something more than mere excitement. He didn't understand what it was, but he was sure it was the same feeling Esplouge had gotten while torturing him.

Tails felt an involuntary smile creep onto his face, a chuckle escape from his throat. Something about the image of what he had done to Shadow felt so _perfect_, as though there wasn't anything else in the world he could derive more pleasure from.

At least not yet. Once Esplouge was alive again, Tails knew that torturing him would bring him the biggest pleasure of all. Something inside him just _knew_ that, although he still didn't quite understand it.

At the very least, Tails knew that once Esplouge was alive again, everything would make sense. Once he saw Esplouge's eyes filled with life again, all of the feelings he had, the violent impulses he felt, would all be satisfied.

Once he could get his revenge, everything would make sense.

Tails found himself walking to Shadow's body, and in moments, he was on top of what remained of the hedgehog, staring at what remained of his head.

_His blood looks so delicious..._

Tails wasn't sure if he had thought it or if Esplouge had, but either way, he couldn't help but agree. Something about the sight of blood, especially the blood of someone he had come to hate so much made him feel so...

What? He wasn't sure what word best described his feeling, but whatever it was, it felt good. Amazing even. He nuzzled the wound on Shadow's head with the same empty affection Esplouge had given to him, feeling the blood spread onto the fur around his muzzle. Without realizing what he was doing, Tails licked some of the blood off of his lips, cringing at the horrible taste as soon as he did so.

_It tastes so disgusting..._ Tails thought disdainfully. _How was Esplouge able to stand it?_

"I'll get used to it," Tails told himself quietly. "For Esplouge, I'll get used to the taste of blood."

Tails remained silent for a moment, letting the situation sink in. Everything seemed to be going so perfectly; right now, the only difficult part was figuring out how to keep Sonic from coming back into his workshop.

After all, Esplouge's body was already down there. But Shadow's body would be a little harder to hide; he wasn't giving off too much of an odor, but the smell of his blood would draw Sonic to it if the blue hero noticed. Keeping it in the house in general was dangerous enough, but it was the best he had for now.

All he had to do was figure out a way to keep Sonic out of his workshop.

* * *

Tails walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, surprised that the blue hero wasn't there. Curious, Tails headed to Sonic's room and opened the door just a crack, and saw that Sonic was simply still asleep. Considering the early hour, that wasn't an unusual sight.

Tails smiled, finding the image oddly peaceful. It was just like old times, back when Eggman was still alive and trying to take over the world, and Sonic would crash at Tails' house when Eggman wasn't up to something. It had always made Tails so happy spending so much time with his closest friend.

And now, he found, he hardly wanted to be spending time around Sonic at all. All he wanted was to spend the rest of his days with Esplouge, causing the reason for his own growing psychosis as much pain and suffering as possible before his own body failed him.

Before his own inevitable death...

Shaking off the image, Tails left the room, deciding to let Sonic continue sleeping. After all, dragging Shadow's body into the house had left a trail of mud and blood. Tails figured he should get that cleaned up before Sonic woke up.

* * *

Sonic awoke a few hours after Tails had checked on him, completely unaware of what had transpired the night before. For all he knew, Tails had probably worked on Metal Sonic late into the night and was probably catching up on his sleep as the blue hero woke up to start his day.

Sonic stretched before leaping out of bed, deciding to head for the kitchen to make himself and Tails something for breakfast. He was shocked to see that Tails had apparently beat him to that, and was making omelets for the two of them.

"Good morning, Sonic," Tails greeted, glancing behind himself briefly to smile at his friend. "I can't believe I woke up before you!"

"Ha ha. Yeah, same here," Sonic said, trying to force his voice to sound more enthusiastic than he felt. "Have you been up all night?"

"Oh, no, I went to sleep about an hour after you did," Tails said. "Guess I just couldn't stay asleep or something."

Sonic wasn't sure how to respond, so he decided to change the subject.

"So, did you get very far with fixing Metal Sonic?" the blue hero asked, hoping he wasn't bugging his friend by bringing the subject up as often as he did.

"Not really," Tails said. "I mean, I'm just getting started, so it'll probably take a while."

"How long do you think it'll take?" Sonic asked.

"Probably a few months," Tails said. "Maybe a bit longer. He's a very complex machine, and since I don't have access to his blueprints..."

Sonic felt a little disturbed hearing his robotic counterpart referred to as a machine, although he wasn't sure why. In the time he had known the robot, they had never been particularly close. Metal Sonic had always been just another one of Eggman's robots to him, up until recently.

Up until Esplouge had come into their lives. Robot or not, Metal Sonic had looked weak, almost emotionally drained after his creator had been killed, and weird as it seemed, Sonic almost felt as though he could sympathize with that.

He had lost friends, too. Esplouge had killed friends of his, had corrupted others. Esplouge was the reason Amy was dead, the reason Shadow had completely lost it before...

Sonic still couldn't admit to himself that Tails had managed to murder the hedgehog on his own. As unpredictable as Tails had become, it was impossible for Sonic to imagine that the fox was powerful enough to destroy the self-proclaimed ultimate life form. As much as Sonic felt Shadow had exaggerated his own strength, the darker hedgehog had still been very powerful, so much so that it was still hard for him to believe that Shadow was dead at all.

And, morbid as it seemed, Sonic found himself worrying how much longer he had until he suffered a similar fate to his fallen friends. Would Tails eventually kill him, or would he try to keep Sonic around as Esplouge had done with him...?

Tails set a plate in front of Sonic, startling the hedgehog from his thoughts. Sonic forced himself to smile at his friend, wracking his brain for anything he could say to break the silence.

"You got really quiet all of a sudden," Tails said, seeming concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sonic said. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm still kinda tired."

Tails chuckled at that, which confused the blue hero.

"You slept more than ten hours and you're still tired?" Tails asked, seeming humored. "Some things never change, do they?"

Sonic genuinely smiled at that.

"Yeah," he said, feeling his spirits lift a little. "I guess so."

Sonic began to play with his food, not really feeling hungry. Tails sat across from him, played with his food for a moment before speaking up again.

"We haven't really hung out much lately, have we?" Tails asked. "I know you want me to work on Metal Sonic, but maybe I could set aside some of that time to spend with you."

"That'd be nice," Sonic said, hoping that this was a sign that whatever was going on with Tails was moving in a more favorable direction, no matter how unlikely that really was. He knew he needed to stay on guard in case Tails did anything crazy, but for now...

For now, Sonic decided to enjoy his breakfast and a nice conversation with his best friend.

* * *

Over the next few months, things finally seemed to get back to normal. Tails seemed to be getting back to his old self, to the way he had been before Esplouge came into their lives. He worked on Metal Sonic as often as he could, determined to fix the robot for his friend, but he also made plenty of time to hang out with Sonic as well.

Yes, everything seemed to be finally getting back to normal. Sonic just hoped that this time, it would stay that way.

* * *

A/N: I love that I'm uploading this on Christmas. I could have written something cute and fitting for the holiday, but instead, I post this. The second to last chapter of this. And then I can finally get started on that prequel people have been asking about since I started the first part of this back in 2006.

Happy holidays, everyone!


	33. The Beginning of the End

A/N: I meant to have this up _months_ ago, but couldn't get everything to flow quite how I wanted. But, it's finally here, and I can finally start posting chapters of the prequel. Which I actually plan on doing the moment I'm finished posting this.

The prequel, just so no one's confused, takes place before "Esplouge" (the first part of this ongoing series of fan fictions, not the character himself) and will be titled "Prelude." I wanted to keep up the theme of using one-word titles, and "Prelude" sounded way cooler than any of its synonyms, ha ha. And yes, I will be posting a sequel to this when I'm finished with "Prelude." I've still got a lot of work to do on this story!

* * *

"We're almost finished..."

Tails paced around his workshop, hardly able to contain his excitement. He was so close, he could almost _feel_ his success, even if it was still too early to start celebrating just yet.

He had won. It was still a little too early to be thinking about it that way, but he had practically already won. Was winning. No matter how he looked at it, he knew he couldn't be stopped at this point, and that made him feel absolutely elated.

Nothing would stop the wave of pain and suffering that would come crashing down on Esplouge. The revenge for all the wrongs that had been done to him, the kidnappings, the beatings, the friends he had lost, the innocence being torn away from him in such a horrible way...

Tails would avenge himself. He was so close to being able to avenge himself, his past self who had long since died, and this closeness felt so _wonderful_...

Tails looked over to Metal Sonic, who was focused on monitoring Esplouge's body to make sure everything went smoothly. Only partly aware of what was going on.

Fixing Metal Sonic hadn't been quite as hard as Tails thought. It had taken quite a lot of time, but all Tails had really done was reactivate the parts of the robot he actually needed. Movement, strength, his memory of how he had helped Eggman create Esplouge in the first place...

Any other memories were just distractions. And, of course, he had had to reprogram the robot to view Tails as his master, which hadn't been nearly as hard as Tails had thought it would be. Then again, Eggman had never been particularly good at safeguarding his machines, not that that mattered anymore. Eggman's complete and utter incompetence as an inventor had worked in his favor, and Tails was grateful for that.

"How much more time?" Tails asked, his voice powerful and commanding. Nothing like what it had once been.

"Esplouge's body should be stable within the hour, possibly sooner," Metal Sonic answered obediently.

"Perfect," Tails said, a dark grin on his face. "This is so perfect..."

Tails looked to the door that lead back into the house, subconsciously nervous that Sonic would come in. Of course, at this point, that wasn't something he really needed to worry about. He had Sonic convinced that everything was back to normal, and the blue hero had seen no need to come down here for the last several months.

How much time had passed, Tails wondered? It almost felt like a lifetime had come and gone since he had last seen Esplouge alive, yet it also somehow felt like it had been mere days ago. When he had seen the life slowly ebb away from Esplouge, trying to escape punishment for the wrongs he had committed. To escape facing what he had done and trying to right his wrongs, even though that wouldn't be possible. How could someone make up for torture and murder? Unless they had the power to bring the dead back to life and erase all the scars, that certainly wouldn't be possible...

Of course, none of that mattered at this point. All that mattered was that Esplouge would be alive again. Would have to face what he had done and who he had tortured. Who he had corrupted.

And then the real fun could begin.

"Master," Metal Sonic said, pulling Tails back from his thoughts. How long had he zoned out? "I believe Esplouge will wake up sooner than expected."

"How much sooner?" Tails asked flatly, looking over to Esplouge's body.

It moved. Esplouge's arm moved, as though he was trying to stretch but was too weak to really move. A slight jerking motion, but Tails was sure that it was a sign that Esplouge was waking up here and now, and that made him feel absolutely elated. The sooner he could get to everything, the better.

Tails approached the table Esplouge's body was lying on, feeling his heart pounding with excitement even though he refused to show it. Couldn't act in a way that would make Esplouge suspect anything was wrong.

So close. He was _so close_...

"Esplouge?" Tails asked softly, forcing his voice to sound as close to what Esplouge would be expecting as he could. Higher, gentler. Innocent. Easy enough to pull off, since it was the same voice he used around Sonic to keep the hedgehog from becoming suspicious.

Esplouge groaned quietly, possibly trying to answer, possibly just trying to stretch a part of his body that didn't take quite as much effort to use. Tails simply watched Esplouge attempt to move and speak, feeling himself growing more and more excited with every passing second. So close...

Esplouge's eyes finally twitched open, appearing dazed and confused. Tails smiled when he saw the color. Violet, the color his eyes were supposed to be. He had discovered soon after Esplouge died that the darker fox's eyes had actually been violet; the energy from the chaos emerald that had been inside his body must have turned them red. That was Tails' theory, anyway, and it was as good an explanation as any.

This time, the energy inside Esplouge's body wasn't so unbalanced. The only way he could become mentally unstable again was if Tails decided not to simply kill him after the torture he had planned.

Esplouge stared at Tails for several moments, seeming confused. Tails stared back, trying not to smirk. Tails let the silence drag on, not wanting to say a word to interrupt this perfect moment. The calm before the storm, the last glimpse Esplouge would see of the past before the fun would begin.

The naive expression on Esplouge's face was absolutely wonderful. The sight of something so innocent about to be corrupted...

This must have been how Esplouge had felt all those years ago when they first met. How many years had it been? It was hard to remember back so far, back to a time where he hadn't known what torture felt like. Before he really learned what fear was.

He had been eight then. Still just a kid. A little, naive kid, just like the creature that was finally starting to move, to sit up, while continuing to stare at him with an absolutely dumbfounded expression on his innocent little face.

Esplouge's body, being artificial, still looked exactly as it had when they first met. Absolutely nothing about him save for the color of his eyes and the expression on his face had changed in the slightest. Tails, however, had undergone several changes. The obvious scars on his arms, chest, and back from the torture, with the only other really noticeable thing being his height. It was kind of nice being taller than Esplouge now.

And, of course, there were all the changes that had taken place inside of him. The innocence had long since been shattered and corrupted, his good nature being replaced by the desire to hurt others as he had been hurt. At times, he felt as though the capacity to feel emotion had long since drained away, although he still experienced flares of anger on occasion that were sometimes difficult to keep from expressing.

And right now, Tails felt joy. Joy at the naive face staring back at him, like a mirror into the past, joy at what he was going to do to that face. Joy that he was going to finally have his revenge after all these years he had lost track of.

Time no longer held much meaning to him. The torture he had been through would never leave his mind, and it didn't matter if it had occurred four or five years ago, or four or five minutes ago. It had happened, and that was all that really mattered.

Tails tried as hard as he could to keep his expression sweet and calm, the way Esplouge would be expecting to see him. It was difficult to stop himself from simply beginning the torture he had planned, but Tails knew he had to be patient.

He was going to toy with Esplouge first. Toy with both him and Sonic before killing them both.

Esplouge simply stared back at Tails, seeming confused and lost. His violet eyes glanced around the room, presumably trying to figure out where he was, probably wondering why he wasn't still dead. His eyes locked onto Metal Sonic for a moment, appearing afraid, before darting back to Tails.

"T-Tails...? What's going on...?"

Tails offered the sweetest smile he could muster. Tried to make himself look friendly, reassuring.

Things were only just beginning...


End file.
